Doris Troy

R&B singer Doris Troy was born Doris Payne in New York City in 1937. A songwriter as well as a singer, she scored a major hit in 1963 with "Just One Look" (remade by The Hollies several years later) on Atlantic Records. She toured England in 1964 and liked it so much that she stayed there for several years. After a few more hits for Atlantic, she switched to Capitol Records, then signed with the independent Calla Records. Unfortunately she didn't match the success of her first hit, and she traveled again to England, where she signed with Apple Records, the label owned by The Beatles, who were fans of hers. She had some success with a string of singles and an album for the label, then she left Apple and went to another British label, People Records. In addition, she put together gospel concerts by several choirs she had been working with for years. Her talents weren't limited to singing and songwriting, however; she was also a playwright, having penned an autobiographical play called "Mama I Want to Sing" in the 1990s, which she performed (in the role of her mother) in London's West End. The play was a hit, and her role was performed at various times by such stars as Chaka Khan and Deniece Williams. Aftr the play closed she played a string of jazz and supper clubs in London. Unfortunately, her health began to decline in the 1990s and she returned to the US, settling in New York City and moving in with her sister. Her health did not improve as much as she and her doctors had hoped, and she left the cold of New York City for the warm desert climate of Las Vegas, NV, which did in fact help her breathing problems. Doris Troy died of respiratory problems in Las Vegas on Feb. 16, 2004.