Biography
June Conquest ranks among soul music’s most gifted yet unjustly overlooked vocalists. In the first half of the 1960s she issued two 45s: the solo effort “Almost Persuaded” and the duet “The Only Way to Correct a Mistake (Is to Make One)” with an artist credited only as the Demon. At the time of the latter release she was living in Houston; like its predecessor, the record failed to register on the charts and both singles later became prized collector artifacts. Relocating to Chicago, she joined Curtis Mayfield’s short-lived Windy C roster in 1966 and recorded only the one single, “Take Care.” When Mayfield launched Curtom two years later, he brought Conquest with him; her track “What's This I See” became the fledgling label’s inaugural release and scored a substantial regional success in Chicago. Even so, her career as a solo artist never gained sustained momentum.
She resurfaced the following year in another duet project. Plans called for pairing her with Sam Cooke’s brother L.C. Cooke, himself an accomplished soul performer, yet Cooke never reached the studio. Donny Hathaway, whose prior experience had been limited to the Mayfield Singers and occasional backup work on Windy C and Curtom sessions, filled the vacancy. Credited as Donny & June, the pair cut “I Thank You,” “Just Another Reason,” and a new version of “What's This I See.” Although none of these sides achieved immediate chart success, their sonic approach foreshadowed the celebrated collaborations Hathaway would later enjoy with Roberta Flack. The 1969 single “I Thank You” remained largely unnoticed until its 1972 reissue, when it climbed to number 41 on the R&B chart and number 94 on the pop chart. The belated recognition proved insufficient to revive Conquest’s recording prospects; she never entered a studio again and eventually abandoned singing altogether.
She resurfaced the following year in another duet project. Plans called for pairing her with Sam Cooke’s brother L.C. Cooke, himself an accomplished soul performer, yet Cooke never reached the studio. Donny Hathaway, whose prior experience had been limited to the Mayfield Singers and occasional backup work on Windy C and Curtom sessions, filled the vacancy. Credited as Donny & June, the pair cut “I Thank You,” “Just Another Reason,” and a new version of “What's This I See.” Although none of these sides achieved immediate chart success, their sonic approach foreshadowed the celebrated collaborations Hathaway would later enjoy with Roberta Flack. The 1969 single “I Thank You” remained largely unnoticed until its 1972 reissue, when it climbed to number 41 on the R&B chart and number 94 on the pop chart. The belated recognition proved insufficient to revive Conquest’s recording prospects; she never entered a studio again and eventually abandoned singing altogether.