Music / Religion
Ortheia Barnes
1944–2015
· R&B and jazz singer, minister
Detroit R&B and jazz singer, sister of J. J. Barnes, who opened for Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight and later entered the ministry.
- Born
- Died
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
aged 70- Also known as
- Ortheia Barnes-Kennerly
- Detroit years
- 1960s–2015
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Ortheia Barnes recorded in the 1960s for Detroit's Mickay Records and for Coral, a Decca label. She never signed with Motown but became a familiar opening act for its stars, including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight, and a fixture of the city's club and jazz scene. She was the sister of soul singer J. J. Barnes. In 1998 she starred with saxophonist Alto Reed and Michael Brock of the Dramatics in "It's a Great Time in Detroit", a tourism advertisement produced by Sue Marx for the Detroit Convention Bureau. She later entered the ministry. After at least two strokes in her last years, she died of heart failure in May 2015 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where she had gone to perform; her friend, bassist Ralphe Armstrong, reported her death to the Detroit Free Press.
Highlights
- Recorded for Detroit's Mickay Records in the 1960s
- Opened for Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Gladys Knight
- Starred in the 1998 Detroit tourism spot "It's a Great Time in Detroit"
- Sister of J. J. Barnes