Wendy Rene

Background

Mary Frierson was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father was of mixed race and married a Memphis musician who was nearly 20 years his junior. The couple had three sons and one daughter.

Career

She recorded for Stax Records in the mid 1960s. Before leaving, Mary showed Stewart some of the songs she had written, and was also offered a solo contract. She needed a stage name, and several options came up including the name Wendy Storm, suggested by Stax receptionist-turned Puerto Rico head Deanie Parker.

Otis Redding then came up with the name Wendy Rene, which she preferred, and she used that name regularly as a solo artist.

The record featured Booker T. Jones on organization The song had been recorded by the Drapels, but was released under Wendy Rene"s name.

The group split up soon afterwards. Featuring Steve Cropper on guitar, it failed to reach the charts.

However, she continued to record and to tour with Stax stars, including Rufus Thomas and Otis Redding, and to sing backing vocals on their records.

In December of that year, she was scheduled to fly with Redding and the Bar-Kays for what would have been her final live performance for the foreseeable future. Tragically, the plane crashed in Madison, Wisconsin leaving Redding and six others dead. In 2010, she returned to the stage briefly at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans.

Several of her songs have been used in films (Gegen die Wand, The Fighting Temptations, Lucky Number Slevin, The Wackness) and sampled/redone by current artists such as Wu-Tang Clan (in "Tearz") and Alicia Keys.

Chili"s Restaurant used Rene"s "Bar-B-Q" single for their 2013 commercial. In 2003 Ace Records released a compilation Civil Defense of her recordings, You Thrill My Soul, which included several that were originally unreleased.

Another compilation, After Laughter Comes Tears, was issued by Light in the Attic Records in 2012. Wendy Rene died on December 16, 2014, after a stroke.

She was 67.

Achievements

• They auditioned for Stax co-founder Jim Stewart in 1963, and were immediately offered a recording contract.