Your forgotten soul single of the day is “Please Little Angel” by Doris Troy. The single was released, on the Atlantic Records label, in 1964, but only reached #128 on the Billboard Hot 100. (Which, I know, isn’t technically in the Hot 100.)
“Please Little Angel” was written by Doris Troy herself (under her pen name of Doris Payne), along with Gregory Carroll, Nickolas Ashford, and Valerie Simpson. This makes it one of the first collaborations between Ashford and Simpson, who went to write such greats as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (initially by Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell, later covered by Diana Ross);’ “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Your Precious Love,” and “You’re All I Need to Get By” (all for Marvin and Tami); “I’m Every Woman” (Chaka Kahn); and a string of songs they performed on their own. The catchy arrangement on the track, complete with that prominent flute line, was by Horace Ott.
Doris Troy, (born Doris Higgensen), was just 16 when she was discovered by the legendary James Brown while she was working as an usherette at Harlem’s Apollo theater. She became part of the original Sweet Inspirations (along with Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, and her sister Dee Dee) and sang backup for a number of soul artists of the day, including Dionne Warwick, Solomon Burke, and the Drifters. Doris first hit the charts as a solo artist in 1963 with with the #10 single “Just One Look” and went on to have a number of minor hits.
In 1969, Doris moved to England, was signed by the Beatles to their Apple label, and co-wrote and recorded a self-titled album with the help of George Harrison, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, Stephen Stills, and other top artists. She performed throughout the UK and became known as “Mama Soul.” She also became an in-demand background vocalist, singing on recordings like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (Rolling Stones), “You’re So Vain” (Carly Simon), and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album.
In 1983, Doris co-starred in the musical Mama I Want To Sing!, which was based on her life. The musical ran for 1,500 performances in New York City and even longer in other venues worldwide. (In the London production, Chaka Kahn co-starred as Doris’ aunt.) The musical was made into a direct-to-DVD movie that was released in 2012, starring Ciara, Patti Labelle, Hill Harper, Billy Zane, and Ben Vereen. Unfortunately, Doris died (of emphysema) in 2004, before the film was produced. She was 67 years old.
While “Please Little Angel” faded into obscurity somewhat quickly, it saw a revival decades later when it was embraced by England’s Northern Soul circuit. It since has become somewhat of a Northern Soul staple and I heard it just minutes ago playing in my local Starbucks. It’s a keeper that should have been bigger than it was.
