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Priscilla Bowman (born Priscilla I. Mills, May 30, 1928 – July 24, 1988) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues singer, who had a No. 1 hit single on the Billboard magazine R&B chart in 1955 with the song "Hands Off". She was the lead singer for the Jay McShann band.

Priscilla Bowman
Birth name	Priscilla Mills
Born	(1928-05-30)May 30, 1928 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Died	July 24, 1988(1988-07-24) (aged 60) Kansas City, Kansas
Genres	R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	c.1950 – c.1975

Biography

The daughter of Ethel and Solomon Mills, she was born in Kansas City, Kansas,[1] and has been called the city's "original rock 'n' roll mama."[2] Her influences included singers Ruth Brown and Annie Laurie.[1] She joined the Jay McShann band in the early 1950s. In 1955 the band signed with Vee-Jay Records, and Bowman recorded two sessions with them. One of the songs, "Hands Off", became a hit and stayed at No. 1 on the R&B chart for three weeks in December 1955.[3]

She recorded three sessions for Vee-Jay and its subsidiary label, Falcon, as a solo singer between 1957 and 1959 but could not repeat her success.[2] However, in 1958 she was the first to record the song "A Rockin' Good Way", with uncredited vocal backing by The Spaniels.[4] The song was written with Brook Benton and became a hit when Benton recorded it himself as a duo with Dinah Washington in 1960.[5]

Bowman recorded again for Abner Records in 1959 and continued to record and make personal appearances, some with McShann, through the mid-1970s. She retired to family life.[1] A compilation album of her recordings, An Original Rock & Roll Mama, was released in 1986.

Bowman died in July 1988 from lung cancer at the age of 60.[6]

References

External links

• Priscilla Bowman discography

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