Priscilla grew up in Charleston, West Viginia living above the local storefront church, it was here that she was first exposed to the church gospel where she spent most of her time watching the choir practice. Sensing her natural desire to sing the organist gave a young Priscilla her first singing lessons, tutoring her in the scales and keeping in key. After graduating from high school when she was a mere 15 she left Charleston for Newark, New Jersey. In Newark she got her first gigs singing in local clubs before eventually taking the plunge and moving to Brooklyn where she soon found herself at the Apollo Theater. Here she met up with and befriended people like Leo and Lloyd Price, Millie Jackson and blues legend Ruth Brown. These great artists took Priscilla under their wings and helped her to develop her singing skills. Clearly they saw a star in their midst for soon she was placed on the same bill as Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Patti LaBelle amongst others. Leo took her on the road with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke and Sam & Dave. All this when she was still a very young teenager.

Here is a brief interview with Priscilla regarding the 'lost' 'Rockefeller Jones' and 'Do I Stand A Chance with You'.

You moved to New York when you were 15, you were obviously aware of your incredible voice, did you go to seek your fame and fortune?
“Yes.”

How did you meet up with Leo Price, by then he would have been a recording star for a few years did he spot you singing or did you audition for him?
“Leo was the house band at the Brooklyn Apollo, And Cecil Bowman, who was the owner, had me to open for the Drifters, and Jerry Butler. Leo then took me under his wings.”

So you met and started performing together and then married?
“No Leo adopted me as a sister. His whole family adopted me. His wife Jackie, his mother & father, brothers & Sister, his brother Lloyd Price was one of the biggest recording artists in the World. I married Rockefeller Jones, his real name was Clyde Moore, his nickname was Rocky. He was Leo’s road manager. Leo never had a nickname, If he did it would have been Money”

Oh, ok, so Clyde Moore was Rockefeller Jones! Performing with Leo must have thrown you right into the heart of things in NYC, for a young girl straight out of West Virginia it must have been pretty exciting?
“Yes, Leo introduced me to the finer things in life, how to take the stage and make it my own, and how to work the stage, N.Y.C. was great but most of the time we were on the road. I was only 18”

You moved to NYC in 1963, my guess is that Rockefeller Jones was recorded early to mid ’67 (GMC 10004 Tony Kaye & The Heartbeats ”Hey, Hey, Little Orphan Annie” was listed in the NYC charts on February 9th 1967). Do you remember the date?
“I’m not sure of the date, I was 17 or 18”

Was this the first time Leo put you in the studio?
“Yes”

The beautiful 'Do I stand A Chance With You' was written by Leo, but 'Rockefeller Jones' was written by a gentleman named W. Miller who produced it with a chap called Moretti. Do you remember anything about these guys and how you and Leo came to record with them?
“Leo and Gene Moretti from Garden City, Long Island, N.Y. was doing things together in the studio. Mr. Miller I didn’t know him too well.”

(W. Miller appears to have been the owner or house A&R man for GMC as his name appears on all releases I have come across)

Can you remember any of the musicians who performed in the Leo Price Orchestra around the time of this recording?
“No I’m sorry, Its been a long time and at my age you can’t remember a lot thats been over 30 yrs.”

History records your first single as being ‘Funny’ recorded in Detroit in 1973 however Rockefeller is clearly a sixties cut that precedes this by several years. When I first contacted you I sent you a copy of the 45 on CD, had you forgotten all about this record?
“No”

Why did you choose to not include it in your history/discography?
I told Scott about Rockefella Jones, I'm not sure why it was not put in the story.

You used to perform with Leo at the Apollo theatre in Brooklyn do you recall what kind of songs you would have been singing in those concerts. And what artists were influencing your singing style – as this record is totally different to anything else you recorded?
“I did a lot of the songs from the sixties, popular hits and Ruth Brown was my girl.”

Do you recall performing 'Rockefeller' live? At the Apollo maybe?
“I did sing this song in clubs with Leo’s band and when we went on the road.”

You toured with some of the great soul and rhythm n blues acts of the sixties what do you remember about this time?
“They gave me a chance, and I enjoyed it. I remember Solomon Burke, Sam & Dave, Ruth Brown, there were many others I opened for.”

The sound starts of with a typical Detroit soul style but then moves up a gear into a rawer James Brown style, was this typical of what the band were playing back then?
“Yes the band played James, but I never sang any of his stuff.”

Do you recall how the record was received? Was it a local hit?
“No I’m sorry”

Was this the only recording session you did with Leo?
Yes the only one I recorded with him.

Do you have any memories surround the song ‘Do I Stand A Chance With You’ - this is an awesome recording your voice is just incredible here, I just wonder if there is anything at all you remember.
That was my style on the song ‘Do I Stand A Chance With You’, I'm sorry I cant remember any thing else.

How did you end up in Detroit? You must have left just after Rockefeller was recorded?
“My Mother move to Detroit, in 1964, in 1971 she took sick so I move to Detroit, and when My Mother pass, I stayed on to be near my real sisters”

Did you release anything else on GMC?
“I’m sorry No. I wish I could give you more info about back then but time has passed, and I’ve moved on.

Thanks to Priscilla for finding the time to answer these questions, she is still out there playing live and recording blues and soul, in 1998 and 1999 she was named by Detroit Blues Society, along with Alberta Adams and Bettye LaVette, as one of Women of Detroit Blues.