Vicki Anderson

Along with Anna King, successors Marva Whitney and Lyn Collins, and husband Bobby Byrd, soul belter Vicki Anderson helped power the James Brown Revue, supporting the Godfather of Soul during a couple extended periods from 1965 through 1972. The Houston native joined Brown shortly after she issued her first secular single, and in addition to performing with Brown, she recorded dozens of singles with him, most notably the 1970 feminist anthem "The Message from the Soul Sisters." Although none of her singles charted, many of them -- "The Message" especially -- resonated enough to be sampled for rap tracks by the likes of Gang Starr, Above the Law, and Lil' Kim. Anderson continued performing for decades, often with Byrd and other fellow Brown associates, and died in 2023.