Frances Nero
title: "Frances Nero" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1943-births", "2014-deaths", "motown-artists", "american-soul-musicians", "american-women-jazz-singers", "american-jazz-singers", "american-dance-musicians", "northern-soul-musicians", "musicians-from-asheville,-north-carolina", "21st-century-american-women"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Nero" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist "]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Frances Nero |
| background | solo_singer |
| birth_name | Willie Frances Peak |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Asheville, North Carolina, United States |
| death_date | |
| instrument | Vocals |
| genre | R&B, dance music |
| occupation | Singer |
| years_active | 1960–1970, 1991–2014 |
| label | Soul (Motown), Shrine, Motorcity, AJA |
| associated_acts | Gino Parks |
| :: |
| name = Frances Nero | image = | caption = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Willie Frances Peak | alias = | birth_date = | birth_place = Asheville, North Carolina, United States | death_date = | death_place = | instrument = Vocals | genre = R&B, dance music | occupation = Singer | years_active = 1960–1970, 1991–2014 | label = Soul (Motown), Shrine, Motorcity, AJA | associated_acts = Gino Parks | website = Willie Frances Nero (née Peak; March 13, 1943 – November 28, 2014) was an American soul and jazz singer. She recorded for Motown after winning their 1965 talent contest and had a UK hit single in 1991 with "Footsteps Following Me".
Life and career
Peak was born in 1943 in Asheville, North Carolina,
In 1960, she married Detroit, Michigan native Johnny Nero and moved to the city. She almost joined The Marvelettes, but returned to Asheville for a time before going back to Detroit and settling into married life. She had two children; her son J. Darryl born July 28, 1963 and daughter Robin born on January 21, 1965 and sang jazz in nightclubs, before entering a talent contest on WCHB, the soul radio station in Detroit, sponsored by Motown. She became the first live performance winner in Motown Records's history, emerging the winner out of 5,000 contestants in June 1965. She was awarded $500, a dozen long stemmed red roses, a recording contract for one year and the honor of being the first female artist signed to Motown's subsidiary Soul label. Her first record release was "Keep On Lovin' Me", written by William Weatherspoon and James Dean, and originally intended for The Marvelettes. It was produced by William "Mickey" Stevenson, and released by Soul in early 1966. However, it was not a major hit. She made no further recordings with Motown, and left the company after three years.
After leaving Motown, Nero made more recordings with Raynoma Gordy and Gino Parks at Shrine Records, which went unreleased. In the 1970s she cared for her mother until her death, and she went on to cosmetology school. She then began teaching the beauty trade, and worked on fashion shows, script writing and other businesses. Her first recording for 23 years, the single reached No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart in 1991, and was dubbed by British disc jockeys "the soul anthem of the nineties". She appeared on Canada's television program, Swinging Time with host Robin Seymour, and on UK shows such as Top of the Pops, The Terry Wogan Show and The Hitman and Her.
She formed her own record label, AJA Records, and released a single in 1996, "Love Ride". A CD compilation of her recordings with Levine, The Very Best of Frances Nero, was issued in the US. In 2006, she issued a DVD autobiography, Mountains, Motown & Motion Pictures, and in 2007 AJA released a CD, Frances Nero Salutes Dinah Washington.
Nero died on November 28, 2014, at the age of 71.
Discography
1965 – Motown Records
- "Keep On Loving Me"
- "Fight Fire With Fire"
1968 – Shrine Records
- "Lady in Waiting" (duo with Gino Parks)
1991 – Motorcity Records
- "Footsteps Following Me" (licensed to Debut Records) - #17 UK Singles Chart
- Footsteps Following Me
- The Best Of Frances Nero
- MotorCity Various Artists Albums
1996 – AJA Records
- "Love Ride"
- "It Ain't The Same Without You"
- For My Very Special Fans – A compilation of Christmas carols
2007/8
- Frances Nero Salutes Dinah Washington
References
References
- Andrew Hamilton. "Frances Nero – Biography – AllMusic". AllMusic.
- "Deep Online April 2010". Soulexpress.net.
- (1991). "Motown". Internet Archive.
- "Frances Nero". discogs.
- Mickey P.. (June 6, 2008). "The Soul Vendor: Frances Nero – Footsteps 1991". Soul-vendor.blogspot.co.uk.
- Roberts, David. (2006). "British Hit Singles & Albums". Guinness World Records Limited.
- "Frances Nero Page". Soulwalking.co.uk.
- Bill Buckley. "FRANCES NERO DIES....". Soulandjazzandfunk.com.
- "The Dead Rock Stars Club 2014 July To December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com.
- "FRANCES NERO | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company".
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