Song:Wait A Minute
Album:Wait A Minute: The Stax & Satellite Story
Barbara Stephens recorded a few singles in the early days of Stax Records. None of them were hits so she went on to be a backup singer until she retired in the early 70s. She was born Boysa Stephens Nov. 1, 1939 in Atlanta. She grew up singing in church. As a teen, she was in The Gardenias. Then she was the featured singer at The Royal Peacock, the largest black nightclub in Atlanta. Then she joined The Deltones not to be confused with a different 50s girl group also called The Deltones. It appears that this group called The Deltones were touring backup singers for big name acts and I don't think they ever recorded. In 1961, Barbara was spotted by producer Chips Moman and he brought her to Memphis to record for Satellite Records. Satellite would soon change their name to Stax because there was already a Satellite Records in California. Moman worked for Stax in their early days and produced the Carla Thomas hit Gee Whiz. He left Stax in 1964 and has had a long career in Memphis and Nashville. Barbara's first single The Life I Live was notable for two reasons. It was the first songwriting credit for Stax singer songwriter producer David Porter. And the single was first released on Satellite and when the name was changed to Stax, it was the first single released on Stax Records. Wait A Minute was Barbara's second single. She wrote that song. She recorded three singles and none of them went anywhere. You can get it on this 2CD budget CD. I'm sure Stax used Barbara as a studio singer for a while but she left and went back to being a touring backup singer. After touring with Joe Tex in the early 70s, Barbara Stephens retired from music to start a family. Now she only sings in the church choir. Here's a video for Wait A Minute by Barbara Stephens.
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