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DORIS TROY

“JUST ONE LOOK”

 (Doris “DORIS TROY” Payne, Gregory Carroll)

Atlantic 2188

No.10    July 27,1963

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Born on January 6, 1937, Doris Payne  was raised in the heart of New York City and soul of Mount

Calvary Church, where her daddy was the preacher.   From childhood on, she sang in the church

choir and  became the lead in various offshoot church groups.    In the ’50s, she worked as an

usherette at the famed Apollo Theatre, joined a jazzy trio called the Halos (not to be confused with

THE HALOS, known for “Nag”), recorded as the “Dee” half of a short-lived Shirley & Lee-ish Jay &

Dee, and dashed off tunes in her spare time.

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One of Doris’ numbers, “How About That,” made its way through the channels and was spotted by

Dee Clark, who charted (#33, 1960) with his recording of it.    Jackie Wilson and Chuck Jackson

recorded some of  her creations; Jackson and Solomon Burke sought her out to sing back-up for

their recording sessions.    James Brown, after hearing her at a local nightclub, took an  interest

in Doris and walked her in to Atlantic Records.

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“Just One Look” was Doris’ very first single.    The record was solid in sound, with a gospel edge

and just a touch of teen–catchy, powerful, and somehow hard to forget.    The Hollies covered

“Just One Look” and drove it deep into the British top 10.    Yet Troy’s original did not even chart

in the U.K., and her  follow-up, “What’cha Gonna Do About It,”  did poorly here and only skirted

England’s charts.

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Nothing more ever charted.       Doris switched labels, first to Calla, then to Capitol Records.      In

1969, she moved her body and soul to England to record some singles and an album for the

Beatles’ Apple label.     Doris Troy featured a high-powered line-up of guest musicians; Doris co-

wrote  some of the songs with George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Steven Stills.   In 1973, she won

an immortality of sorts when she and Clare Torry sang back-up on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the

Moon.

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Doris Troy still resides in London, still sings, still writes songs, still occasionally records tunes for

British-only release–and still awaits that next and long-deserved hit.