Damita Jo DeBlanc (August 5, 1930 – December 25, 1998),[1] known professionally as Damita Jo, was an American actress, comedian, and singer. Her second marriage was to her manager James "Biddy" Wood in 1961.[2]
DeBlanc was born in Austin, Texas, United States.[3] She was the featured vocalist on albums by Steve Gibson and the Red Caps during the 1950s.[4] She later married Gibson, but they parted ways professionally and personally in 1959. The couple had a daughter, Stephanie Latrelle Gibson born April 12, 1955,[5] who carried on the family's musical tradition as a singer and pianist. Her lessons began at the age of 4. She married Nathan Fred Shelton of West Virginia, and had twin boys, Bruce Thomas Shelton and Brian Stephen Shelton in Montclair, New Jersey.
Credited as Damita Jo, DeBlanc had some chart success in the early 1960s with two answer songs: 1960's "I'll Save the Last Dance for You" (an answer to "Save the Last Dance for Me") and 1961's "I'll Be There" (an answer to "Stand by Me"). Both songs were originally sung by Ben E. King (the former with the Drifters) and made the R&B top 20, and "I'll Be There" also reached number 12 on the pop chart. In 1962 she recorded "Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in her Stocking)", previously made famous by the Andrews Sisters and Bill Haley, for Mercury Records. In 1966 she had a minor hit with a cover of the Jacques Brel song "If You Go Away." She was successful in Sweden, where "I'll Save the Last Dance for You" peaked at number 2 (March 1961), "Do What You Want" at number 5 (July 1961) and "Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in her Stocking)" at number 3 (January 1962). She worked with Ray Charles, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. In 1963, she released a recording for Mercury with Billy Eckstine and the Bobby Tucker Orchestra. She was involved in comedy and toured with Redd Foxx.
In 1998, she suffered a respiratory illness and died on December 25[3] in Baltimore, Maryland.
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | The Big Fifteen | ABC-Paramount 378 (M) / S-378 (S) |
| 1961 | I'll Save the Last Dance for You | Mercury 20642 (M) / 60642 (S) |
| 1962 | Damita Jo at the Diplomat | Mercury 20703 (M) / 60703 (S) |
| 1962 | Sing a Country Song | Mercury 20734 (M) / 60734 (S) |
| 1963 | This One's for Me | Mecury MG 20818 (M) / WC 16333 (S) |
| 1965 | This Is Damita Jo | Epic LN 24131 (M) / BN 26131 (S) |
| 1965 | Go Go with Damita Jo | RCA Camden CAL-900 (M) / CAS-900 (S) |
| 1965 | Damita Jo Sings | Vee-Jay LP-1137(M) / LPS-1137 (S) |
| 1966 | Midnight Session | Epic LN 24202(M) / BN 26202 (S) |
| 1967 | If You Go Away | Epic LN 24244(M) / BN 26244 (S) |
| 1968 | Miss Damita Jo | Ranwood 8037 |
| Year | "A" Side | "B" Side | US Pop | US CB Pop | US R&B | Label | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | "I'd Do It Again" | "I Don't Care" | -- | -- | -- | RCA Victor – 47-5022 | October 1952 |
| 1953 | "Missing (One Heart)" | "The Widow Walk" | -- | -- | -- | RCA Victor 47-5253 | January 1953 |
| 1960 | "I'll Save The Last Dance For You" | "Forgive" | 22 | 17 | 16 | Mercury 71690 | October 1960 |
| 1961 | "Keep Your Hands Off Of Him" | "Hush, Somebody's Calling My Name" | 75 | 74 | -- | Mercury 71760 | January 1961 |
| "Do What You Want" | "Sweet Georgia Brown" | -- | 114 | -- | Mercury 71793 | March 1961 | |
| "I'll Be There" | "Love Laid Its Hands On Me" | 12 | 30 | 15 | Mercury 71840 | June 1961 | |
| "Dance With a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)" | 105 | 123 | -- | Mercury 71871 | September 1961 | ||
| 1962 | "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You" (Part 1) | (Part 2) | -- | -- | -- | Mercury 71944 | September 1961 |
| "Tennessee Waltz" | "The Window Up Above" | -- | 128 | -- | Mercury 72019 | July 1962 | |
| 1963 | "Stop Foolin'" (with Brook Benton) | 108 | 87 | -- | Mercury 72207 | October 1963 | |
| "Baby, You've Got It Made" (with Brook Benton) | 111 | 133 | -- | October 1963 | |||
| 1965 | "Silver Dollar" | -- | 104 | -- | Epic 9766 | February 19, 1965 | |
| "Tomorrow Night" | -- | 88 | -- | February 19, 1965 | |||
| 1966 | "If You Go Away" | "When The Fog Rolls in To San Francisco" | 62 | 77 | -- | Epic 10061 | August 19, 1966 |