Song:Running Out
Album:Stay Out of the Kitchen
Mable John is a very underrated 60s soul singer who was one of the few singers who recorded for both Motown and Stax. This comp of her late 60s Stax recordings is well worth your time. She was born Nov. 3, 1930 in Bastrop, LA. She was the oldest of several siblings including R & B legend Little Willie John. The family first moved to Arkansas and then Detroit and that's where she went to high school. Mable worked for an insurance agency owneed by Bertha Gordy. She's Berry Gordy's mother. So eventually Mable became the first woman signed to Motown. Gordy was attempting to record some blues artists at the time. She released a few singles in 1961 but they didn't catch on. And when Motown went in a pop direction, Mable was dropped. She worked as one of Ray Charles' Raelettes until she signed with Stax in 1966. Her first single Your Good Thing Is About To End was her biggest hit and reached #6 on the R & B Singles chart. None of her other singles caught on but they're great songs. Running Out was her final single before she left Stax in 1968. The song was written by Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson which is interesting because they were working for Motown at the time. They wrote it pre-Motown as it was first recorded by Vernon Garrett in 1966. You can get all her Stax recordings on this comp. Mable went back to The Raelettes after leaving Stax and left secular music in 1973. She still runs her ministry today and recorded a gospel album in 1993. Here's a video for Running Out by Mable John.
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