The Mirettes were a female vocal trio composed of former members of the Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

History

Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields and Jessie Smith were the first official incarnation of the Ikettes, a backing trio for Ike & Tina Turner. In 1965, the Ikettes had a top 40 pop hit with "Peaches 'N' Cream" and a top 20 R&B hit with "I'm So Thankful" on Modern Records. As their popularity grew, Ike Turner sent a different set of Ikettes on the road with "The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars" and kept Montgomery, Smith, and Fields on tour with his revue which caused much annoyance to the trio. They also were not receiving the extra money from their hits, so they left the revue in late 1965.

After trying unsuccessfully to continue using the name the Ikettes under management of Tina Turner's sister, Alline Bullock, they signed to Mirwood Records and changed their name to the Mirettes in 1966. After their two singles on the label did not chart, they signed to Revue Records where they had some success. Their first single, "In the Midnight Hour" reached No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 18 on the R&B chart. Their next two singles made little impression, as did a single on Minit Records in 1968 entitled "Help Wanted." In June 1968, they performed at the Soul-In show held by the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers (NATRA).

A transfer to Uni Records in 1969 was more fruitful for them, but the songs were not big hits. That same year they sang on The Lost Man soundtrack produced by Quincy Jones. In 1970, they signed to the independent label, Zea Records, and released "Ain't My Stuff Good Enough". Venetta Fields left the group and was replaced by former Ikette Pat Powdrill before they broke up in 1971.

Discography

Studio albums

TitleDetails
In The Midnight HourReleased: 1968 Label: Revue RecordsCatalog Number: RS – 7205
WhirlpoolReleased: 1969 Label: Uni RecordsCatalog Number: 73062

Vocal credits

  • 1969: The Lost Man (The Original Soundtrack Album)

Other appearances

  • 1970: A Little Shot Of Rhythm & Blues (Rhapsody Records)
  • 2006: The Mirwood Soul Story Volume 2 (Kent dance)
  • 2010: Northern Soul Of Revue (Soul World)
  • 2016: Quincy JonesThe Cinema Of Quincy Jones (Decca Records)
  • 2017: Mirwood Northern Soul (Kent Dance)

Singles

Single (A-side, B-side)Release dateLabel & Cat #Peak chart positionAlbum
US Hot 100US R&B
"He's All Right With Me" b/w "Your Kind Ain't No Good"Apr 1966Mirwood – 5514Non-album tracks
"Now That I Found You, Baby" b/w "He's All Right With Me"Mar 1967Mirwood – 5531
"In The Midnight Hour" b/w "To Love Somebody"Nov 1967Revue – 110044518In The Midnight Hour
"Help Wanted" b/w "John's Big Chance" by Huggy's OrkMay 1968Minit – 32045Non-album track
"The Real Thing" b/w "Take Me For A Little While"May 1968Revue – 11017In The Midnight Hour
"I'm A Whole New Thing" b/w "First Love"Nov 1968Revue – 11029
"Stand By Your Man" b/w "If Everybody'd Help Somebody"Feb 1969Uni – 55110Whirlpool
"Heart Full Of Gladness" b/w "Ain't You Trying To Cross Over"Apr 1969Uni – 55126
"Whirlpool" b/w "Ain't You Trying To Cross Over"Jul 1969Uni – 55147
"Sweet Soul Sister" b/w "Rap, Run It Down"Sep 1969Uni – 55161The Lost Man
"Ain't My Stuff Good Enough" b/w "The Time And The Season"1970Zea – ZEA 50002Non-album tracks
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

External links