| Fern Kinney | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Jackson, Mississippi, United States |
| Genres | R&B, disco |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Associated acts | The Poppies |
Fern Kinney is an American R&B and disco singer, who is best remembered for her releases, "Groove Me" and "Together We Are Beautiful".
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Kinney began singing in the late 1960s, and joined the vocal group, The Poppies, replacing their former singer, Patsy McClune. Kinney remained in the group with Dorothy Moore and Rosemary Taylor for about two years, and also released a solo single, "Your Love's Not Reliable", during this time, however it was not a success.
In the early 1970s she began working as a session musician and backing vocalist. Among the songs she sang on were King Floyd's "Groove Me", and her former "Poppie" bandmate Dorothy Moore's 1976 Top 10 single, "Misty Blue".
By then having settled as a housewife, Kinney in 1979 decided to attempt a comeback, and she recorded her own version of "Groove Me", but changed the rhythm on the song to turn it into a disco dance track. The song reached number 6 on the Billboard dance chart. Her next single "Together We Are Beautiful", released in 1980 was another disco song, but with a slower and more sultry beat. It had been recorded by the British vocalist, Steve Allan, eighteen months earlier.[1] It failed to chart in the United States, but reached number one in the United Kingdom.[2]
Kinney's subsequent releases attempted to continue in the disco style, however by this time the disco fad had reached its peak and Kinney was unable to repeat her success. By 1983 she had returned to her earlier career as a backing vocalist. Kinney is regarded as a one hit wonder.