Anna King began as a gospel singer at the age of twelve and only started her secular singing career at the age of 24 in 1961 with a record for the small record company Malibu with the titles In Between Tears and So in Love With You . In 1963 she discovered James Brown , who built her into his James Brown revue as a replacement for Tammi Terrell . Impressed by her rousing soul singing, he brokered her a record deal with the record company Smash Records and produced several singles with her as well as the long-playing record Back to Soul in 1964 . On the LP King sang several soul and blues hits, some of which were composed by James Brown. The record also included Kings both chart successes with the titles If Somebody Told You and Baby Baby Baby (a duet with Bobby Byrd ). With both songs she was included in the Hot 100 of the US music magazine Billbord in 1964 and reached places 67 and 52 respectively. In 1964, King split from Brown and Smash. At End Records she released her last record with an answer song to James Brows hit Papa's Got a Brand New Bag . King's answer was Mama's Got a Bag of Her Own. After the end of her recording career, she performed with the former drummer of James Brown Sam Lathan, and later with other singers from the soul scene. Duke Ellington hired her as a gospel singer for some of his concerts. She became a priestess in the mid-1970s until she died in her hometown of Philadelphia in 2002, aged 64.
