Claudia Lennear (born Claudia Joy Offley; 1946) is an American soul singer and educator. Lennear began her performing with the Superbs before becoming an Ikette in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. She was also a background vocalist for various acts, including Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, and Freddie King. She released her only solo album in 1973. Lennear was featured in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. She was inducted in the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
Early life Lennear was born Claudia Joy Offley at Providence Lying-In Hospital in Rhode Island. Her last name was changed after her mother married Leo V. Lennear, a Navy man stationed in Newport. She grew up in different neighborhoods in Providence. Although raised a Catholic, her grandmother taught her to sing gospel songs as a child.
In elementary school, Lennear studied music theory and took French at St. Charles Borromeo parochial school. Her career goal was to become a translator at the United Nations. She also took private piano lessons. In high school, she was in the chorale program. As a teenager she listened to Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Carla Thomas, and Ike & Tina Turner. During her senior year at Hope High School, her stepfather retired from the Navy and she moved to Pomona, California, with her family in 1964.
Career After graduating from high school, Lennear enrolled in college and began fronting the Los Angeles-based soul group The Superbs. They performed local gigs around Los Angeles. Lennear made her recording debut with the group on the single "One Bad Habit", released on Doré Records in 1968.
The Ikettes Through her friend, singer Sherlie Matthews, Lennear landed an audition with bandleader Ike Turner in 1968. She passed the audition and left the Superbs to become an Ikette. She said: "He [Ike Turner] was a terrific business person, very disciplined, and he was a visionary." Lennear was with Ike & Tina Turner for a few years until she had a spat with Tina Turner. Nonetheless, Lennear recalled her time with the Turners fondly, telling The Providence Journal:
Post-Ikette career After leaving the Ikettes in 1970, Lennear worked with many acts including Humble Pie and Joe Cocker. She was part of a trio of backup singers for Delaney and Bonnie that also included Rita Coolidge.
Lennear was one of Leon Russell's Shelter People. She sang back-up vocals on Joe Cocker's 1970 Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour and live album, on Leon Russell and the Shelter People (1971), and on George Harrison's The Concert for Bangla Desh (1971). Her lead vocal live recording of "Let It Be" from the film Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1971) was the B-side of Leon Russell's "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" single on A&M Records in 1971.
In 1973, Lennear released her first and only solo album for Warner Bros. Records entitled Phew![ "Claudia Lennear – Phew!"] at Allmusic. She had a bit part in the film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), playing the secretary who asks Clint Eastwood's character for his Social Security number. Lennear appeared in the August 1974 issue of Playboy magazine in a pictorial entitled "Brown Sugar".
Lennear appeared in the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom (2013), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. After the success of the film, David Bowie contacted Lennear and offered to write songs for her next project.
Since 2014, Lennear has performed and recorded in Los Angeles with The New Ash Grove Players with S S Jones & Claudia Lennear. They have performed at the McCabes Guitar Shop, The Coffee Gallery, the Pasadena Pavilion for the Performing Arts, and The Improv.
At the Lockn' Festival on September 11, 2015, Lennear performed with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Rita Coolidge, Leon Russell, and other alumni from the 1970 Joe Cocker Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour in a memorial concert for Cocker.
Academic career In 2006, Lennear received degrees in French literature and art history from Pitzer College.
Lennear began teaching first in high school and then at Mt. San Antonio College, where she has been teaching French, Spanish, English, and remedial math.
Accolades In 2019, Lennear was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.
Personal life In 1969, Lennear dated Mick Jagger when Ike & Tina Turner were the opening act for the Rolling Stones on their American tour. Lennear's relationships with Mick Jagger and David Bowie are often cited as inspiration for The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar" (1971) and Bowie's "Lady Grinning Soul" (1973).Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p. 56"The lyrics were partially inspired by a black backing singer we knew in L.A. called Claudia Linnear" – Bill Wyman quoted from Rolling With The Stones (2002) at Time Is On Our Side. NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray noted in 1981 that she was "yet to reply in song to either Mick or David." However, in a 1973 article in Rolling Stone, she was quoted as saying that she wrote the song "Not At All" "to inform Mick Jagger of his dispensability".Fong-Torres, Ben, "Keeping Great Company: An Interview with Claudia Lennear", Rolling Stone, April 12, 1973.
Discography Singles YearTitleLabel1971"Let It be"A&M Records1973"Two Trains" / "Not At All"Warner Bros. Records
Albums As a solo artist YearAlbumLabel1973Phew!Warner Bros. Records
As an Ikette Release dateAlbumLabelJune 1969In PersonMinit RecordsJuly 1969So FinePompeii RecordsAugust 1969Cussin', Cryin' & Carryin' OnPompeii RecordsOctober 1969The HunterBlue Thumb RecordsMay 1970Come TogetherLiberty RecordsNovember 1970Workin' TogetherLiberty Records
With other artists
YearAlbumArtistCreditsU.F.O.Ron DaviesVocals (Background)Truckers, Kickers, Cowboy Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth of Country Rock, Vol. 6: 1973 Vocals (Background)My Perfect List 60 Titres Soul 1 Primary ArtistAll the Funk & GroovePrimary Artist1970Stephen StillsStephen StillsVocals1970Mad Dogs & EnglishmenJoe CockerMain Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Choir/Chorus, Featured Artist, Primary Artist1970Alone TogetherDave MasonVocals1971Rock OnHumble PieVocals1971New York City (You're a Woman)Al KooperVocals, Vocals (Background)1971Living by the DaysDon NixVocals, Vocals (Background)1971Leon Russell and the Shelter PeopleLeon RussellVocals1971Klatu Berrada NitkuDependablesVocals, Bass, Group Member1971Into the Purple ValleyRy CooderVocals1971Getting Ready...Freddie KingVocals, Vocals (Background)1972Bring Me BackTony KellyVocals1972Artist ProofChris DarrowVocals (Background)1972A Possible Projection of the FutureAl KooperVocals1973Chris JaggerChris JaggerVocals1974No OtherGene ClarkMain Personnel, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Voices1974Mo' RootsTaj MahalVocals, Vocals (Background)1974CompartmentsJosé FelicianoVocals (Background)1975StillsStephen StillsVocals1976The Best of Leon Russell [DCC/Shelter]Leon RussellVocals1976Glass HeartAllan RichSound Effects1976Cry ToughNils LofgrenVocals, Vocals (Background)1977BrothersTaj MahalVocals, Vocals (Background)1985Takin' Care of BusinessFreddie KingChoir/Chorus1991Key to the Highway [Del Rack]Freddie KingVocals, Vocals (Background)1997Soft Fun, Tough TearsNils LofgrenVocals (Background)1997RetrospectiveLeon RussellVocals1999Ultimate CollectionNils LofgrenVocals (Background)1999Ultimate CollectionDave MasonVocals (Background)2000The Best of Freddie King: The Shelter Records YearsFreddie KingVocals (Background)2001Ultimate CollectionFreddie KingVocals (Background)2001Sing a Happy Song: The Warner Bros. RecordingsTaj MahalVocals (Background)2001Right On, Vol. 3: Break Beats & Grooves from the Atlantic & Warner VaultsPrimary Artist2001Right On! Box SetPrimary Artist2001Rare + Well Done: The Greatest & Most Obscure RecordingsAl KooperVocals2005The Essential Taj MahalTaj MahalMain Personnel, Vocals (Background)2005Mad Dogs & Englishmen [2005 DVD]Joe CockerPerformer2006What It is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves: 1967–1977Primary Artist2006The Definitive CollectionDave MasonVocals (Background)2006The Definitive CollectionHumble PieAdditional Personnel, Vocals (Background)2006The Complete Fillmore East ConcertsJoe CockerVocals, Primary Artist2006Mad Dogs & Englishmen: Fillmore March 28, 1970Joe CockerVocals, Primary Artist2007Less Than the Song/Life MachineHoyt AxtonMain Personnel, Vocals (Background)2010Rarities Edition: Mad Dogs & EnglishmenJoe CockerChoir/Chorus, Primary Artist2011Easy Does It/New York City (You're a Woman)/A Possible Projection of the Future: Childhood's EndAl KooperVocals (Background)2014The Best of the SuperbsThe SuperbsPhoto Courtesy2014Face the MusicNils LofgrenVocals2016Lost Studio Sessions 1964–1982Gene ClarkFeatured Artist2025Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited (Live at Lockn')Tedeschi Trucks Band and Leon RussellFeatured artist, recorded live in 2015
Filmography/TV appearances YearTitleRole1968The Hollywood PalaceIkette1969Andy's Love ConcertIkette1969The Smothers Brothers Comedy HourIkette1969Playboy After DarkIkette1970The Ed Sullivan ShowIkette1974Thunderbolt and LightfootSecretary201320 Feet from StardomHerself
References
External links Official Website Claudia Lennear on AllMusic Singer Claudia Lennear aka the Rolling Stones' famous Brown Sugar; audio clip from Robert Elms, With Jason Solomons, Claudia Lennear, Louisa Pestell and Dr. Robert, BBC London, February 20, 2014