Rene, Wendy – “After Laughter Comes Tears: 1964-65″ – [Light in the Attic]

From her first song, the?? first note, through both LPs, this girl has some fucking soul. Wendy Rene, born Mary Frierson in Memphis, corralled her siblings and formed the vocal group the Drapels, who got immediately signed to Stax’s subsidiary label, Vox. Mary got signed the same day when she showed Stax cofounder Jim Stewart songs she had written. She recorded her songs with her brother Johhny, Booker T and the MGs and Otis Redding (who coined her stage name, Wendy Rene).

After three singles of her own music, two with the Drapels, and being included on a roster for a French Stax compilation, she retired to take care of her growing family. Made some royalties when WuTang Clan sampled After Laughter. She returned to do one more show in New Orleans in 2010. She currently sings in her local church choir.

Rene has such as strong?? voice, and the power in her voice in the first couple tracks really get you moving. This is all of her recordings, including all the songs recorded with the Drapels. Brilliant liner notes, amazing release. I can tell this is going to be a KFJC favorite, so hit it up before it becomes uncool…

PGM: all songs just fade out slowly