Darlene Love

Darlene Love, born Darlene Wright on July 26, 1941, in Los Angeles, California, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress whose career has spanned recording, film, television, and Broadway. Her father, Reverend Joe Wright, raised her in a household steeped in gospel music, and she began singing with her church choir at age ten in Hawthorne, California. Her younger sister, Edna Wright, would later become the lead singer of the group Honey Cone. While still in high school in 1957, Love sang with a mixed-gender doo-wop group called the Echoes before joining the Blossoms, a girl group with whom she would become closely associated throughout the 1960s.

In 1962, producer Phil Spector hired the Blossoms for a recording session after his own group, the Crystals, could not travel to Los Angeles in time. Love was paid $5,000 to sing lead on "He's a Rebel," a recording Spector released under the Crystals' name on Philles Records. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1962. Following that session, Love signed with Spector, who gave her the professional name by which she is known today. She sang lead on a second track credited to the Crystals, "He's Sure the Boy I Love," a song co-written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Love also recorded "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for Spector's 1963 holiday compilation A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, a track originally intended for Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes. The song became Love's signature recording. As a member of the Blossoms, she contributed backing vocals to major recordings of the era, including the Ronettes' "Be My Baby," Shelley Fabares' "Johnny Angel," Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash," and Frank Sinatra's version of "That's Life." She was also part of the trio Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, whose recording of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" reached the top ten in 1963.

Throughout the 1960s, Love was among the most sought-after session and backing vocalists in popular music, working alongside Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, and Sonny and Cher. The Blossoms secured a recurring role on the television music program Shindig! and appeared on several Johnny Rivers hits, including "Poor Side of Town," "Baby I Need Your Loving," and "The Tracks of My Tears." They were also part of Elvis Presley's 1968 NBC television special. Into the 1970s, Love continued working as a backing vocalist before stepping away from the music industry to raise a family. In 1973, she recorded vocals for the Cheech and Chong single "Basketball Jones," which peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Love returned to performing in the early 1980s, appearing at venues such as the Roxy in Los Angeles and, beginning in 1982, at New York clubs including The Bottom Line. During this period she also worked as a maid in Beverly Hills. In the mid-1980s she portrayed herself in the Tony Award-nominated jukebox musical Leader of the Pack, which featured rock and roll songs written by Ellie Greenwich. The show originated as a revue at The Bottom Line before moving to Broadway, where Love's Broadway career ran from 1985 to 2002. Her Broadway credits include Leader of the Pack, Carrie, Grease, and Hairspray.

In 1986, Love began an annual tradition of performing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on David Letterman's late-night television program, first on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman and later on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, continuing through 2014. Letterman referred to her as the "Christmas Queen." Love has continued the tradition in the years since Letterman's retirement. In 1987, she sang backup for U2's remake of the same song. She also had a recurring role as Roger Murtaugh's wife in the Lethal Weapon film series.

Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 and is ranked among Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers. She is featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, for which she received a Grammy Award.