Iconic singer Judy Cheeks, who was a member of Ike and Tina Turner‘s Ikettes and labored with Stevie Marvel and Donna Summer time, died on the age of 71 on November 26. The information was confirmed on Fb by her buddy Invoice Schrader. “Associates of Judy Cheeks, I’m so sorry to inform you that Judy handed away, peacefully within the arms of her husband…I waited till now to inform you in order that you would take pleasure in Thanksgiving earlier than listening to such unhappy information. I do know that’s the means Judy would have needed it. Please pray for her lovely, candy soul and for her husband, who liked her a lot.
Filmmaker Alan Cross additionally paid a touching tribute to the star, writing. “I simply discovered of the passing of Judy Cheeks and so unhappy to listen to. Judy touched me in so some ways after I labored along with her and my co-writer China Burton at Warner Chappell again within the good outdated haze of the Nineteen Nineties,” he recalled. “Judy labored with among the really nice artists, had monumental expertise and didn’t undergo fools gladly. We hit it off immediately and stayed in contact till lately, when she abruptly went quiet. I knew one thing was up, and to listen to she has now handed has come as a shock. I’ll always remember the voice and that loving smile! Sleep effectively, pricey Judy. RIP.”
Judy was the daughter of gospel singer, Rev. Julius Cheeks and launched her eponymous debut solo album on the age of 19 in 1973. It was produced by Ike and Tina Turner, and he or she subsequently toured with the husband-and-wife group, performing as an Ikette.
Alongside her solo profession, she labored as a session singer, lending her vocals to some iconic albums, together with Donna Summer time’s As soon as Upon a Time in 1977 and Stevie Marvel’s soundtrack album for the movie The Girl in Pink in 1984. She additionally appeared on Boney M‘s LP “Ten Thousand Lightyears” in 1984 and Alphaville’s album “Afternoons in Utopia” in 1986.
She was additionally an completed songwriter, and The Jackson 5 recorded certainly one of her songs We’re Gonna Change Our Model.
Her most up-to-date album launch, Love Dancin’, was in 2020, and the title monitor was co-written along with her outdated buddy Stevie Marvel. In 2023, she began collaborating with POSE and launched the singles Let Your Soul Dance and Palms Up In The Air.
Followers paid tribute to the star as they learnt the unhappy information. “Judy Cheeks so in love (the true deal), certainly one of my absolute fave dance tunes. Paul Hassle Anderson performed it on a regular basis. Each be up there dancing relaxation in everlasting peace,” one penned.
“Relaxation in Peace, Judy. And I ship you, Lars Lucas, and all people who liked her my honest condolences and a variety of power,” one other added.
A 3rd chimed in: “I am saddened to listen to this…I can think about she had a full life and impressed others. That is the unhappy a part of touching others and creating loving bonds in life.”
In the meantime, a fourth shared: “Studying of the passing of Judy Cheeks caught me off guard. She’s certainly one of a brief checklist of singers whose work I admired over years…She was a wide-ranging, stylish vocalist with a really wealthy musical heritage and historical past that prolonged far past the dance recordings for which most of the persons are (acquainted) along with her.”
