Biography
Starr Duncan Lowe and Saundra Williams first issued their retro-soul material as Saun & Starr in the opening years of the 2010s, yet both Bronx natives had already built substantial résumés well before that decade. The pair first crossed paths as young adults during an open-mike evening in August 1986, quickly formed a friendship, and soon afterward supplied backing vocals for local musician Nick Jones on his regular Apollo Theater engagements in Harlem. In 1990 Saun entered the same venue’s Showtime at the Apollo competition and prevailed with her rendition of Vesta’s “Congratulations.” The next year she and Starr joined the Staten Island wedding band led by Sharon Jones; the three singers eventually performed together as the Good ’N Plenty Girls, also billed at times as Triple S Threat.
Throughout the 1990s the two women lent their voices to a wide array of ensembles and appeared on multiple house recordings. Saun’s own “I Want It, I Need It (Real Love)” reached the top of Billboard’s dance chart in 1994. One year later she contributed to “Bring Back My Happiness,” a track from Moby’s album Everything Is Wrong. Her solo project Bless the Day appeared in 1999. Starr, meanwhile, issued the 1995 solo single “Lost in Music” and worked with the esteemed gospel-house outfit Jasper Street Co.
Although contact with Jones eventually lapsed, she located the singers again in the late 2000s and recruited them for appearances with her retro-soul ensemble Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Their contributions proved so valuable that they became permanent members, earning the collective nickname the Dapettes. Recording independently as Saun & Starr for Daptone, the duo debuted in 2013 with a 7-inch coupling “Hot Shot” and “Gonna Make Time,” both produced by Dap-Tones bandleader Bosco Mann. The same pair of songs later anchored the 2015 full-length Look Closer.
Throughout the 1990s the two women lent their voices to a wide array of ensembles and appeared on multiple house recordings. Saun’s own “I Want It, I Need It (Real Love)” reached the top of Billboard’s dance chart in 1994. One year later she contributed to “Bring Back My Happiness,” a track from Moby’s album Everything Is Wrong. Her solo project Bless the Day appeared in 1999. Starr, meanwhile, issued the 1995 solo single “Lost in Music” and worked with the esteemed gospel-house outfit Jasper Street Co.
Although contact with Jones eventually lapsed, she located the singers again in the late 2000s and recruited them for appearances with her retro-soul ensemble Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. Their contributions proved so valuable that they became permanent members, earning the collective nickname the Dapettes. Recording independently as Saun & Starr for Daptone, the duo debuted in 2013 with a 7-inch coupling “Hot Shot” and “Gonna Make Time,” both produced by Dap-Tones bandleader Bosco Mann. The same pair of songs later anchored the 2015 full-length Look Closer.
Albums
Live
