Robbie Montgomery

Robbie Montgomery (born June 16, 1940) is an American singer and restaurateur.

Montgomery was born on June 16, 1940, in Columbus, Mississippi, to Ora Gray and James Montgomery.

They lived with her great grandmother Miss Pathenia, who was an American Indian.

When she was six years old, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri.

She grew up in the Pruitt-Igoe projects as the oldest of nine siblings.

Her siblings are James, Walter, Robert, George, Everett, Linda and Janice.

Montgomery was raised a Baptist but is now a Methodist.

She sang in the church choir, attended Curtis Elementary School and graduated from Pruitt High School.

Montgomery and two neighborhood friends Frances Hodges and Sandra Harding, started a doo-wop singing group called the Chordettes, which evolved into the Rhythmettes, and they started appearing in talent shows.

A local singer named Art Lassiter hired them as backup singers and they became the Artettes.

Lassiter sang with bandleader Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm.

Turner wrote a song, "A Fool in Love," for Lassiter.

She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s.

After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and then became a "Night Tripper" for Dr. John.

When Art Lassiter didn't show up for a recording session at Technisonic Studios in March 1960, Turner took the Artettes and had them accompany his backup vocalist Little Ann (Tina Turner) on the track.

"A Fool In Love," was released in July 1960 on Sue Records and became a hit, peaking at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides.

Turner formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but with a new group of backup singers: Delores Johnson, Eloise Hester, and Jo Armstead.

Montgomery was pregnant and unable to tour.

After having her baby in 1961, Montogmery toured with blues musician Earl Hooker before she returned to Ike & Tina Turner.

During her hiatus she sang with the group Benny Sharp & the New Breed who had another female vocalist named Jessie Smith.

Montgomery and Smith along with Venetta Fields (a gospel singer from Buffalo) formed the first official incarnation of The Ikettes.

In 1962, Montgomery released her first single,"Crazy In Love" / "Pee Wee" on Turner's Teena Records label.

The Ike & Tina Turner Revue performed a grueling schedule of one-nighters on the Chitlin Circuit in the segregated south, and recorded constantly, but Montgomery recalled those timed fondly.

"We had good times. We would gamble, sing, dance, all the way to the next gig," she told St. Louis Magazine.

In 1962, Turner relocated the Ike & Tina Turner Revue to California.

In 1965, the Ikettes released two of their biggest hits on Modern Records, "Peaches 'N' Cream" (Pop No. 36, R&B No. 28) and "I'm So Thankful" (Pop No. 74, R&B No. 12).

As an Ikette, Montogmery performed on the television shows American Bandstand, Hollywood A Go-Go, and Shindig!.

Montgomery, Smith and Fields left the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965.

After trying unsuccessfully to continue using the name the Ikettes under management of Tina Turner's sister, Alline Bullock, they changed their name to the Mirettes after their new label Mirwood Records.

Their single release did not chart and they later signed with Revue Records.

In 1968, they had success with the single "In the Midnight Hour" (Pop No. 45, R&B No. 18).

They sang on The Lost Man soundtrack produced by Quincy Jones in 1969.

In the 1970s, Montgomery was a backing vocalist for acts such as Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones, and Joe Cocker.

She later created the Sweetie Pie's franchise, and starred in the award-winning reality series Welcome to Sweetie Pie's.

Montgomery eventually left the Mirettes to join Dr. John as a "Night Tripper" in the 1970's. She provided backing vocals for variety of acts, including Barbra Streisand, Debbie Reynolds, Joe Cocker and Stevie Wonder.

In the 1970's she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis which required lung surgery and derailed her singing career.

In 1986 and 1987, Montgomery toured Europe with former members of the Kings of Rhythm, including Jimmy Hinds, Clayton Love, Billy Gayles, Erskine Oglesby, Stacy Johnson and Oliver Sain, as part of the St. Louis Kings of Rhythm.

The band was officially appointed as ambassadors for the City of St. Louis.

In 2018, Montgomery released her debut album, Miss Robbie's What They Call Me, which was her first release in 40 years.

The album includes songs that are mixture of soul, blues and country.