Barbara Acklin
February 28, 1944 – November 27, 1998
Barbara Acklin was a popular soul singer and successful songwriter during the ’60s and ’70s. After singing in church and then Chicago area nightclubs while still a teenager, Acklin was hired by Chess Records to sing backup for the likes of Etta James and Fontella Bass. In 1966, Acklin was hired as a receptionist for Brunswick Records where she had to chance to hand a song she had co-written to Jackie Wilson. That song was “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” which Wilson made into a top 5 R&B and #11 pop hit. That was enough to land Acklin a recording contract with Brunswick. Acklin released several charting singles over the next decade, including “Show Me the Way” (a duet with Gene Chandler), “Love Makes a Woman,” and “Am I the Same Girl,” which was later covered by Dusty Springfield, the Manhattan Transfer, and Swing Out Sister. Acklin’s biggest hit as a songwriter came with the release of “Have You Seen Her,” a song she co-wrote with Eugene Record and turned into a chart topping hit by his group, the Chi-Lites. Barbara Acklin was 54 when she died of pneumonia.
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