Martha High

Martha High, born Martha Harvin, held the longest tenure among James Brown's female vocalists. Her path opened in Washington, D.C., where she and the future Four Jewels—Sandra Bears, Carrie Mingo, Grace Ruffin, and Margie Clark—attended Roosevelt High School and sang at Trinity AME Zion Church; Harvin stepped in only after Mingo stepped out.

Northwest D.C. natives, the singers rehearsed with the Rainbows, the Marquees (Marvin Gaye), and Billy Stewart (Ruffin's cousin) in Bo Diddley's basement. Bob Lee handled early management until Diddley took charge and arranged their first contract with Chess/Checker Records.

On Checker, Chess, Start, and Tec, the Four Jewels placed several regional singles before Harvin arrived. The personnel change yielded an immediate break: under the shortened name Jewels and on Carole King's Dimension imprint, they scored their strongest success with Bears leading “Opportunity,” a track that moved briskly in multiple markets and earned national notice. Its follow-up, “But I Do” b/w “Smokey Joe,” fared far worse, ending the Dimension run.

In 1964 the group joined the James Brown Revue. Harvin, now co-leading with Bears, traveled the country on a nonstop circuit of one-nighters alongside James Crawford, Vicki Anderson, Baby Lloyd, and the 350-pound Elsie “TV Mama” Mae, whose uproarious “All of Me” never failed to ignite crowds. Smash Records documented one such evening on the 1967 LP Presenting the James Brown Show, which omits TV Mama. When the tour reached Detroit the singers tried to audition at Motown, only to find the building closed on their single free day.

After eighteen months and two James Brown–produced 45s, the Jewels disbanded yet stayed active in music for the rest of their careers. Harvin adopted the name Martha High and remained with Brown more than thirty years, appearing on his ecology-themed “Summertime” and on the James Brown Original Funky Divas collection; Salsoul Records released her self-titled solo album in 1979. Fans remember her from those shows as the jet-black sister with glowing blond hair.

High left Brown near 1995 to tour with former Brown saxophonist Maceo Parker, whose band included Parker, High, Charles “Sweet Charles” Sherrell (ex–James Brown vocalist), guitarist Bruno Speight, vocalist Corey Parker, trombonist Greg Boyer, drummer Jerome Thomas, bassist Rodney “Skeet” Curtis, trumpeter Ron Tooley, and organist Will Boulware.