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2. Margie Joseph
Another singer who suffered during Aretha’s reign at Atlantic Records was Margie Joseph, a powerhouse who made a few important appearances on the Soul charts but never seemed to hit a big. The Pascagoula, Mississippi native went from church singing to a couple of sides for Okeh Records before signing to the Stax Records subsidiary Volt where she initially cut three singles including the Bobby Womack-penned “What You Gonna Do,” followed by two powerful albums that only resulted in one minor hit: a cover of the Supremes’ “Stop! In the Name of Love.”
Underrated Black Female Singers
A move to Atlantic in 1973 resulted the following year in what would be her highest charting single, a cover of Paul McCartney’s “My Love” which hit #10 on Billboard’s R&B chart. Otherwise, she carved out an underground niche for herself with some mildly racy material that included “Come Lay Some Lovin’ On Me,” “Stay Still (And Let Me Love You)” (later covered by Ronnie Laws), “Don’t Turn the Lights Off” and two produced by Motown great Johnny Bristol: “Come On Back To Me Lover” and “I Feel His Love Getting Stronger.” Margie also had a controversial hit paired with Blue Magic on a remix of the romantic “What’s Come Ove Me” though they did not sing it together. Her parts were spliced in. Margie’s last major chart appearance was the #12 charter “Knockout,” a club hit. She is still around today sounding better than ever wherever she is invited to grace a stage.
