BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY - AFRICAN AMERICAN " BENNY SPELLMAN " WAS AN AMERICAN R AND B SINGER BEST KNOWN FOR HIS 1961 HITS LIPSTICK TRACES - GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                                                         BLACK     SOCIAL     HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Benny Spellman

Benny Spellman (December 11, 1931 – June 3, 2011)[1] was an American R&B singer,[2] best known for his 1961 hits "Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette)," and the original version of "Fortune Teller", written by Allen Toussaint (as Naomi Neville).
Later, these songs were covered by The Who and The Rolling Stones, among others.[3] "Lipstick Traces" reached #28 on the US Billboard Black singles chart and #80 on theBillboard Hot 100.[4] Spellman variously worked with Allen Toussaint, Earl King ("Trick Bag"), Huey "Piano" Smith, Ernie K-Doe, Wilson Pickett, The Neville Brothers and The O'Jays.[5]
Spellman was born in Pensacola, Florida, United States.[5] He sang backing vocals on Ernie K-Doe's number one hit record, "Mother in Law".[3] He recorded a single, "Word Game", on Atlantic Records in 1965, but later semi-retired from music to work in the beer industry.[3]
In 1988, Collectables Records issued a retrospective album of 16 of Spellman's recordings from the 1960s. In 2009, he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.[5]
Spellman died of respiratory failure in June 2011, at the age of 79.[5]