From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Sep 25, 2003  1:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Wade Flemons
 
WADE FLEMONS

Born 25 September 1940, Coffeyville, Kansas
Died 13 October 1993, Battle Creek, Michigan

Raised in Kansas but moving to Michigan as a teenager, Wade
Flemons fomed an R&B group at age 15 called The Newcomers.
In 1958 he was signed as a solo artist by Vee-Jay Records in 
Chicago and scored several hits for the label, both pop and R&B.
The first of these was his own composition "Here I Stand" (1958),
which was successfully revived by the Rip Chords in 1963. But
the highest peaking single (# 10 R&B, # 70 pop) was "Easy Lovin'"
in 1960. Flemons continued to record for Vee-Jay until 1965, but
after a cover of Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone To
Love" (1961), there were no more hits.  

In 1967, Flemons joined Vee-Jay session vocalist Maurice White
in the soul group The Salty Peppers, which by 1970 had evolved
into Earth, Wind and Fire. Flemons was a member of this highly
successful group from 1970 until 1973, as vocalist, (electric) pianist
and vibraphonist. After releasing two albums on Warner Bros, the
leader of the group, Maurice White, fired most of the group in 1973,
including Flemons.

He was also a songwriter and co-wrote the biggest hit of the Dells
(# 10, 1968), "Stay In My Corner". Wade Flemons died of cancer at
the age of 53.