(L-R) Sandra Peoples, Grace Ruffin, Margie Clark, Carrie Mingo
The Jewels were famed for their 1964 record "Opportunity"
The Jewels
(L-R) Sandra Peoples, Grace Ruffin, Margie Clark, Carrie Mingo
The Jewels were famed for their 1964 record "Opportunity"
| Members (1961-1963) Sandra People (Bears) Margie Clark Carrie Mingo Grace Ruffin |
(1964-!968) Sandra Bears Margie Clark Martha Harvin Grace Ruffin |
(1968- Present) Sandra Bears Margie Clark Grace Ruffin |
The Jewels were formed at Roosevelt High School in Washington D.C, in 1958. Sandra and Grace lived on the same street and would met Carrie Mingo at their Trinity AME Zion Church where they sang together in the choir. Margie Clarke a schoolmate was too became part of the group.
The Jewls began singing as The Impalas in 1961 Its members all had attended Roosevelt High.
Bo Diddley kept a small recording studio in the basement of his D.C. home. It was a place where where young D.C. talent met. It was there the girls began performing and Diddley recorded their debut single "I Need You So Much", which was School and sang in Trinity AME Zion Church. Early on the group began performing in Bo Diddley's basment and Diddley recorded their first single on Checker Records.
The Jewels met Bob Lee and James Hopp at one of these meetings. Lee wanted to produce the Impals and Hopp became their manager. Two records were recorded in the fall of 1961 "For Love of Mike". Through Diddley the record was released on Checker Records. The single failed chartwise.
In the early 60s Carrie Mingo left the group and was replaced by Martha Harvin.
The record never caught on, and in 1962 producer Bob Lee changed the group's name to The Four Jewels. The single "Loaded with Goodies" next appeared on Start Records, a local D.C. label, followed by Chess single "That's What They Put Erasers on Pencils For". They also sang backup vocals for member Grace Ruffin's cousin, Billy Stewart. Carrie Mingo left the group around 1963 and was replaced by Martha Harvin; at this time the group became simply The Jewels. The group went on to record for Dynamite Records, Federal, Tec Records, and King over the next few years.
In 1964 the group signed to Dimension Records and released the single "Opportunity". Late in 1964 the tune peaked at #64 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but climbed all the way to #2 on KRLA 1110. This was followed by the single "But I Do" b/w "Smokey Joe", which missed the national charts and marked the end of their association with Dimension. Beginning in 1965, the group toured across the U.S. as backing vocalists with James Brown. They intended to record at Motown Records when the tour stopped in Detroit, but the studios were closed the day they were in town. Brown produced two more singles for the group, but they did not sell, and the group disbanded in 1968.
Martha Harvin changed her stage name to Martha High and went on to tour with Brown for some thirty years, in addition to releasing a solo disco album in 1979. The original four members reunited in 1985 and released an album of their singles re-recorded, entitled Loaded with Goodies. On August 3, 2017, Sandra Bears came onstage for a cameo during a set by the Hall Monitors at Hill Country in Washington, D.C., singing "A Fool in Love" and "Opportunity."
2000 (L-R) Sandra Bears, Grace Ruffin, Margie Clark
Margie Clark died on September 21, 2019, at the age of 74.
