Emma Pought (born April 28, 1942) – Happy Go Lucky, Me (1966)

The lead singer of the Bobbettes who co-wrote their #1 R&B hit "Mr. Lee" in 1957 also wrote this phenomenal independence anthem that became a Northern Soul classic.

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Emma Pought is the last surviving member of the vocal group the Bobbettes, who formed when they were teenagers in New York City during the 1950s and went to #1 R&B with their 1957 hit “Mr. Lee.” They later recorded as the Soul Angels and the Sophisticated Ladies.

The group first met while singing in the Glee Club at their East Harlem elementary school P.S. 109. Besides Emma and her sister Jannie Pought (1945–1980), other original members were Laura Webb (1941–2001), Helen Gathers (1942–2011), and Reather Dixon (1944–2014). They all lived in housing projects located at 1905 Second Ave and 99th Street, and practiced in the hallways and outside on the playground.

In 1955, the girls formed a vocal group called the Harlem Queens along with three other friends who later dropped out. While performing as a quintet at one of the Apollo Theater’s amateur nights, they were noticed by producer James Dailey. He became their manager and got them a contract with Atlantic Records.

Emma and Helen Gathers were the primary songwriters of the group, but all of them came up with a song about one of their fifth grade teachers who they disliked, titled “Mr. Lee.” Atlantic demanded it be changed to a love song without references to Mr. Lee being a schoolteacher, which resulted in the original lyric “ugliest teacher” changed to “handsomest sweetie.”

The modified track was released in 1957 and zoomed up the charts, going all the way to #1 R&B where it stayed for four weeks, and reaching #6 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. Its B-side was the superb doo-wop number “Look At The Stars,” co-written by Emma, Helen, and their first recording session’s orchestra conductor Reggie Obrecht. It was the first record to top the R&B charts that also became a top-ten crossover single, and went platinum, selling two million copies.

Despite its success, the Bobbettes were not happy with the song. After releasing several more singles on Atlantic that failed to chart, in 1959 they recorded the answer song “I Shot Mr. Lee” which revealed their true feelings. But the label refused to release it. Their contract was up soon and they left Atlantic.

Soon they began working with Teddy Vann, production manager at George Goldner's label Triple-X Records (a name that didn’t have a obscene meaning at the time), and re-recorded “I Shot Mr. Lee.” It was released in 1960, and went to #52 on the Billboard Hot 100. Atlantic sued Triple-X, and released the Bobbettes’ earlier version themselves.

They released nearly a dozen singles on different labels during the early sixties. In 1961, Gathers left the group and they switched managers from Dailey to Laura’s brother, Joe Webb. But it wasn’t until 1966 that they landed a contract with a major record company, RCA Victor. Their debut RCA single “Having Fun” came out that May, a superb dancefloor anthem written by Donald Height, b/w the stellar upbeat jam “I’ve Gotta Face The World” which was written solely by Emma. Both sides were arranged and conducted by Jimmy Tyrell and co-produced by Joe Webb and Height.

It did not chart, and in October, 1966 only promo copies of their next (and last) single for RCA were released. “It’s All Over” was a cover of "It's All Over Now," written by Bobby Womack and his sister-in-law Shirley Womack and originally released by his group the Valentinos, most famously covered by the Stones. Its B-side was the phenomenal declaration of independence “Happy Go Lucky, Me,” which Emma wrote. This time the single was arranged and conducted by Horace Ott, but again produced by Webb and Height.

The Bobbettes’ RCA singles were destined to become Northern soul classics. Today, original copies of both sell for around $125 on Discogs.

After several years without a record contract, they tried changing their name to the Soul Angels. They issued one single under that name in 1969 on Josie Records, a funky reminder for fellas to treat women right titled “It’s All In Your Mind,” b/w the funk instrumental “Ladies Choice,” both sides produced by Height who co-wrote them with Webb.

During the early seventies, Webb and Height launched the New York-based soul label Mayhew Records and released several of the Bobbettes’ singles. They included the upbeat jam “Tighten Up Your Own Home” (1972), which the two of them co-wrote and co-produced, with a cover of Luther Ingram’s “Looking For A New Love” on the flip.

As disco went mainstream in the late seventies, the Bobbettes rebranded themselves as the Sophisticated Ladies and released some singles aimed at the dancefloor. The first was a modern soul/disco cover of Bobby Womack’s “Check It Out,” b/w an updated disco version of their own 1972 B-side “Good Man.” Released in 1977, initially on Bareback Records and then Mayhew, it was co-arranged by David and Dennis Williams and co-produced by Webb and Frank Fair.

Their final single was the laid back slow jam “I'll Keep Coming Back” b/w the superb disco-funk “This Ain’t Love,” released in 1980 on the short-lived New York City disco label Reflections. Both sides were co-produced by Webb and Fair, and arranged by the Williams brothers who co-wrote the tracks along with Eddie Levert of the mighty O’Jays and songwriter Robert Dukes. It was repressed in 2018 on Kalita Records, but original copies AND the repressings sell for more than $100 today.

Tragedy struck the group that same year. Emma’s sister Jannie Pought had left the group in the early seventies, and in September, 1980 was stabbed to death on the streets of Jersey City, NJ in a random attack by a stranger. She was only 34.

In 1981, the Bobbettes put out the second-to-last single they would ever release under any name, and it was a boogie disco funk masterpiece. “Love Rhythm” was written by John Buggs, who co-produced it with Fair, arranged by the Williams brothers. It featured Emma on lead vocals and was remixed by Richie Rivera when it was issued on Atlantic subsidiary Radio Records.

Happy Birthday to the living legend Emma Pought.

Further info:

“Memories of the Bobbettes,” by Reather Dixon Turner, Yesterday's Memories, 1976.

“The Bobbettes (based on an interview with Reather Dixon Turner),” by Marv Goldberg, Marv's R&B Notebooks, 2004.

“Episode 58: “Mr. Lee” by the Bobbettes,” podcast by Andrew Hickey, A History Of Rock Music in 500 Songs, November 25, 2019.

“'But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?' Review: Girl-Group Greatness,” The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 2023.

#R&B #soul #funk #disco #TheBobbettes #SoulAngels #EmmaPought