The Donays were a 1960s R&B girl-group out of Hamtramck, Michigan.[1] In 1961 the group recorded Richard P. Drapkin (aka Ricky Dee) song "Devil in His Heart" for Detroit's Correc-tone Records. Possibly produced in Detroit by Richard "Popcorn" Wylie, it and "Bad Boy" may be the only Donays recordings.
In August, 1962 the recording was released as the B-side of "Bad Boy" on larger New York label Brent.[2] The record was somehow discovered (perhaps by George Harrison, who sings the lead vocal) and recorded by the Beatles in 1963, retitled as "Devil in Her Heart".[3]
The lead singer of The Donays was Yvonne Vernee Allen. A decade later, Motown group The Elgins (which broke up in 1967) reunited to tour Britain in 1971 after it enjoyed two unexpected UK Top 20 hits. Yvonne, previously a session vocalist, took the place of former lead vocalist Saundra Mallett Edwards. The reunion sputtered. Yvonne continued singing into the 1990s, working for Ian Levine's Motor City label.[4]