Dottye Ramm / Dorothy Ramsey / Dot Ramm

Cleveland, late 1950s - mid 1970s

Dorothy Ramsey started performing locally in the late 1950s as a member of the Sky-Hi Trio. The group, which includedn David Gwinn on piano and Sammy Abrams on bass, got their name from the Sky-Hi Room in Cleveland's Majestic Hotel. 

Dorothy's early life is a mystery to us. She was married and took her husband's last name, Ramsey. She was probably in her early-mid 20s when she was in the Sky-Hi Trio. There is a mention of her as a member of the Bobby Hopkins Singers gospel group in 1952.

She continued to play locally through 1964, usually singing in front of small jazz combos. The Nate Spencer Trio was one of her backing groups. She was billed as Dot Ramm, and later, Dorothy Ramsey, and Dottye Ramm.

In late 1960 she recorded her first record, with backing help from Ralph Williams. The songs were in the light R&B style. The record was first issued on the Mister G label, and then later on the HunTom label. The Mister G issue seems to be pretty rare. The records re-release on HunTom is unusual, as the label was from Atlanta. A few months after Dot's record, HunTom released the first 45 by Gladys Knight and the Pips. 

The record boosted her status as she could be billed as a 'recording artist'. Nearly four years passed before she had a second 45. This record was a cover of "He's A Real Gone Guy", an R&B standard originally done by Nellie Lutcher, and "No Time For Tears" written by Leodis Harris. The record was produced by Clevelander Marque Davis, who did some later productions, and released on the one-shot Melodynamic label. This record got some sales and airplay but not enough to be a big break for her.

In early 1965 she joined the Apollas, a three member 'girl group' that was based in California. The story seems to be that the group was booked for an engagement at the Viginian in Cleveland. One of the members wasn't able to make it so Dorothy was recruited for the gig and became a pernament member. The group was previously known as Leola and the Lovejoys and they released two records under that name. Touring to promote the second record was the one that brought them to Cleveland and the name and personnel change.

Dorothy spent a little more than two years as an Apolla, maintaining her home in Cleveland. She was married to Robert Ramsey. The Apollas released three or four more 45s on the Loma label during her stay in the group. By late 1966 she was gone, replaced by Billie Barnum.

She resumed performing locally in 1967-8 and based on club listings, was pretty active up through 1970-1. She recorded a third 45, with covers of "Feeling Good", a show tune from 1964 that was popularzied by Nina Simone and recorded by many artists, and "Yesterday", the Beatles evergreen, supposedly one of the most recorded songs in history. Dottye's original release may be the most obscure version, released on a Pama custom press, also including (apparently) "Going Out Of My Head", another monster 1960s recording standard. Dottye was trying to give the club audiences what they wanted, then. The Pama version remains unheard to us but in 1971, the two songs were released on a Boddie custom, very likely the same recordings (although no credits for "Going...". This record was popular enough to turn up in the used record market. 

That's all we have for now.

Discography:
Nothing I Wish Ever Comes True / I Belong To You - Mister G no #,  HunTom 1001, Dec 1960 (Mister G release)
He's A real Gone Guy / No Time For Tears - Melodynamic 637/8, 1964
Yesterday ; Goin' Outa My Head / Feelin' Good - no label, no #
Feeling Good / Yesterday - Ebb'e 7173, July 1971