Mable John Obituary

Mable John, an American blues vocalist and first female signed by Berry Gordy to Motown’s Tamla label has died. She was born on November 3, 1930 and died on August 26, 2022 at age 91.

Mable died at her home in Los Angeles. “We loved her and she was a kind person,” her nephew Kevin John told the Detroit News.

Mable is best known for her time at Motown. However, she left the record label, after which she spent several years as a Raelette, backing many Ray Charles hits.

In 1966 she attempted a solo career again, signing with Stax Records and her first single with the label was “Your Good Thing (Is About to End).” The song peaked at #6 on the R&B chart, and even managed to cross over onto pop radio, peaking at #95 there.

She released six more singles for the label, none of which captured her first single’s success. After leaving Stax Records in 1968, John rejoined the Raelettes for several years.

She left secular music in 1973, and began managing Christian gospel acts, occasionally returning to the studio as a singer.

Most recently, John appeared as blues singer Bertha Mae in the film Honeydripper in 2007, as well as the hit documentary 20 Feet from Stardom in 2013, in which she discussed her years as Ray Charles’ head Raelette.