Biography
The Adorables consisted of two pairs of sisters—Pat and Diane Lewis along with Jackie and Betty Winston—and ranked as one of only two female ensembles contracted to Ed Wingate and Joanne Jackson’s Golden World Records. In 1964 the label issued their first two 45s, “Deep Freeze” backed with “Daddy Please” and “School’s All Over” backed with “Be,” followed by a third and final single, “Ooh Boy” backed with “Devil in His Eyes,” the next year. A rotating team of writers supplied the material, among them the unrelated Hamilton Brothers—Bob, Albert, and Ronald, the last also known as Ronnie Savoy—Freddie Gorman, half-brother to the Hamiltons, and Richard “Popcorn” Wylie; Bob Hamilton occasionally published under the pseudonym Flora Blackburn. Fresh from Motown, where he had co-written “Please Mr. Postman” and “Forever,” Gorman contributed at Golden World to the Reflections’ “Just Like Romeo and Juliet” and additional titles.
After the third single the group dissolved. Pat issued a solo release on the same label, “Can’t Shake It Loose” backed with “Let’s Go Together,” which appeared in March 1966 yet fared no better than the Adorables’ discs. Without warning Wingate and Jackson transferred their entire catalog—masters, artist contracts, production agreements, and publishing deals—to Motown Records, returning Gorman to his former employer. Pat subsequently performed with the Andantes, Motown’s foremost female session vocalists. She reached an artistic high point alongside Diane Lewis, Rose Williams, and Diane Davis in Hot, Buttered, Soul Unlimited, the ensemble that supported Isaac Hayes throughout his celebrated Black Moses period. In the late ’80s Britisher Ian Levine located Pat and recorded both her solo work and her Andantes collaborations for the Motor City series.
After the third single the group dissolved. Pat issued a solo release on the same label, “Can’t Shake It Loose” backed with “Let’s Go Together,” which appeared in March 1966 yet fared no better than the Adorables’ discs. Without warning Wingate and Jackson transferred their entire catalog—masters, artist contracts, production agreements, and publishing deals—to Motown Records, returning Gorman to his former employer. Pat subsequently performed with the Andantes, Motown’s foremost female session vocalists. She reached an artistic high point alongside Diane Lewis, Rose Williams, and Diane Davis in Hot, Buttered, Soul Unlimited, the ensemble that supported Isaac Hayes throughout his celebrated Black Moses period. In the late ’80s Britisher Ian Levine located Pat and recorded both her solo work and her Andantes collaborations for the Motor City series.
Albums
