Although she’s somewhat of an obscure figure today, beautiful Marva Whitney was known as “Soul Sister #1” during her stint in the James Brown Revue as the featured vocalist. The Kansas City-born belter—singing with her family’s gospel choir since the age of three—stayed with Brown (the two were in a relationship) and the Revue for three years before leaving in late 1969 or early 1970, exhausted by the schedule kept by the hardest working man in show business with whom she toured America, Asia, Europe and Africa.
 

 
Whitney’s first solo single, “Your Love Was Good To Me” was recorded for Brown’s King Records label in mid-1967, but was not a success, nor were two follow-up attempts at hits. Her first chart hit came with “It’s My Thing (You Can’t Tell Me Who to Sock It To),” a “response” from womankind to The Isley Brothers’ hit “It’s Your Thing,” which reached number 19 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.
 

 
Whitney followed up with two lesser hits, “Things Got To Get Better (Get Together)” and “I Made A Mistake Because It’s Only You, Pt 1.” All told, she recorded three albums Unwind Yourself, Live and Lowdown at the Apollo and It’s My Thing, along with 13 singles with James Brown as producer and writer or co-writer. After leaving the Godfather of Soul’s stable, she wasn’t really able to book the big venues as a headliner and left the music industry to raise a son, working sporadically in the music business after that.

In December 2012, Marva Whitney died at her home, aged 68.

First up a SEXY performance of “Things Got To Get Better (Get Together)” on ABC’s Music Scene TV program in 1969. If this woman is not hotness personified, I don’t know who would be…

 
Whitney was featured in the famous James Brown concert in Boston on April 5, 1968 which was televised live due to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King the previous day (the idea was to keep black people at home and calm, watching the show). Here she’s sings Etta James’ “Tell Mama.”

 
A gorgeous “Over the Rainbow” from 1969.

 
“Who Can I Turn To?” on ‘Playboy After Dark.’ There’s a phase shift in the audio here, but it’s still worth watching.

 
A showstopper: “Your Love Was Good for Me” on ‘Playboy After Dark’

 
With James Brown on ‘The Mike Douglas Show’ in 1969, performing “If You Don’t Work, You Can’t Eat.” The quality is iffy, but the performance itself is funkier than neckbone…