Barbara Randolph

American singer and actress Barbara Randolph had her moment of glory on the Motown label in the 1960s, notably with her cover of The Four Tops' hit "I Got a Feeling". Born in Detroit on May 5, 1942, the adopted daughter of actress Lillian Randolph began her film career in Bright Road (1953), before singing with her mother in the vocal group The Red Caps. In 1960, she signed with the RCA label and in 1964 joined The Platters, replacing Zola Taylor, with whom she recorded just one album, The New Soul of the Platters. In addition to her roles in the films Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and Cactus Flower (1969), Barbara Randolph pursued her singing career with Soul Records, a division of Motown. She recorded a cover of The Four Tops' hit "I Got a Feeling " and another of Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness ", artists she accompanied on tour, as well as Gladys Knight & the Pips and Hugh Masekela on the 1968 Motown Sound road show. Two more singles followed under Lee Hazlewood's LHI label in 1970, without any notable success. After a long silence, Barbara Randolph returned in 1989 with a new version of "I Got a Feeling", then "Soul Searching", taken from her only album Breaking Into My Heart (1992), as she enjoyed a fashionable comeback via the British scene with the Motorcity Records label. The singer, celebrated among other forgotten artists in Northern Soul clubs, died in South Africa on July 15, 2002 at the age of 60. 2003 saw the release of The Collection compilation.