Song:I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)
Album:The Girls Got Soul
Of course The Ikettes were the female backup singers for Ike & Tina Turner. But occasionally Ike would record them. Of course he didn't pay them much so the lineup constantly changed. They had a few hits but I'm Blue was their only top 20 pop hit in 1962. And it features the original Ikettes lineup. Ike formed The Ikettes in 1960 with Dolores Johnson, Eloise Hester and Joshie Armstead. They backed up Tina Turner on her first single A Fool In Love and then she backed them up on I'm Blue. Ike licensed I'm Blue to Atco Records for national distribution and it reached #3 on the R & B singles chart and #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. After a couple more unsuccessful singles, Ike moved them to his Teena label. They had some minor hits but nothing as big as I'm Blue. By 1964 all three girls left and were replaced by The Ikettes who recorded on Modern Records from 1964-66. Joshi Armstead attempted to launch a solo career but eventually formed a songwriting production team with Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson. Of course the mid-60s Ikettes also left and they were replaced by others. The Ikettes comps that are available contain the Modern recordings so I'm Blue isn't on them. You can only get I'm Blue on various artists comps like this one from the Kent label that features Atlantic Records female artists. I'm Blue was the basis for the Salt 'N Pepa hit Shoop and the song also appeared in the 1988 film Hairspray. Here's a video for I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song) by The Ikettes.
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