Soul singer, songwriter and producer Lorraine Chandler was born Ermastine Lewis on April 29, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan. While she didn’t achieve great chart success, she is acknowledged as one of the first black female songwriters and producers. Growing up in Detroit, she was a family friend of The Temptations’ Otis Williams and a neighbor of percussionist Eddie ‘Bongo’ Brown. She graduated from high school but quit college in order to pursue music as a career. Her first foray into the music business was co-writing songs with Jack Ashford. They composed songs that were recorded by the O’Jays (“I’ll Never Forget You”) and Eddie Parker (“I’m Gone”). Lorraine Chambers’ first single as an artist was 1966’s “What Can I Do,” which became a regional hit. The single was picked up by RCA, who also released her second single, “I Can’t Hold On.” Neither single achieved national success and she continued her career behind the scenes. She continued to write with Jack Ashford until he moved to Los Angeles, California in 1976. Staying in Detroit, Lorraine Chandler was the subject of brief revival in the 1980s when some unreleased recordings were unearthed by a British DJ and label executive. She produced a 1989 album for Eddie Parker and started performing again at Northern soul festivals in the UK and locally in Detroit. Lorraine Chandler died on January 2, 2020, at the age of 73.
