Ruby Winters: Songbird - The Anthology (1966-1979)

Ruby Winters recorded several energetic soul singles for tiny labels throughout the late '60s and early '70s, but never could break out beyond regional status. She was born in Kentucky, but raised in Cinncinnati, and had her first chart hit in 1967, teaming with Johnny Thunder for a duet remake of Jo Stafford's 1954 single 'Make Love to Me,' for Diamond Records. Their version peaked at number 13 on the R&B charts. Ruby was one of the mainstays at Diamond for close to four years, between 1966 and 1969. She had another Top 20 hit with 'I Don't Want to Cry' in 1969 for the label, and one Top 20 single in 1969 with 'Guess Who'. But she would get caught up in the Diamond Records shutdown and shift over to Certron records for one release in 1970 (allegedly Certron bought the Diamond masters), before scoring a surprise hit in the mid-'70s with her cover of the Dick Glasser standard, 'I Will'. She would release an album with the same title in 1978. Later hit singles for her included the songs 'I Won't Mention It Again', 'Come to Me!' and 'Baby Lay Down', all of which made it into the UK Singles Chart in the late '70s. The last two appeared on her last album Songbird, released on K-Tel in 1979. I have gathered here 14 of her '60s sides, including her duet with Johnny Thunder, plus her complete 1978 album I Will, and half a dozen tracks from 1979's Songbird. Highlights include the Northern Soul cuts 'Better' and 'I Want Action', 'I Don't Want to Hurt Nobody', 'Just Like A Yo-Yo', 'The Bells of St. Mary's', 'Always David', Kris Kristofferson's 'For The Good Times', her impressive debut single 'In the Middle of a Heartache', and the wonderful deep soul ballad 'Try Me', 32 songs in all!! http://en.wikipedia.org/
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Ruby Winters performing the classic 'I Will':