Robbie Montgomery

Robbie Montgomery (born June 16, 1940) is an American singer and restaurateur. She is noted for being one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the 1960s. After her tenure as an Ikette, she was a member of the Mirettes, and then became a "Night Tripper" for Dr. John. In the 1970s, Montgomery was a backing vocalist for acts such as Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones, and Joe Cocker. She later created the Sweetie Pie's franchise and starred in the award-winning reality series Welcome to Sweetie Pie's.

Early life Montgomery was born on June 16, 1940, in Columbus, Mississippi, to Ora Gray and James Montgomery. They lived with her great-grandmother Miss Pathenia, who was an American Indian. When she was six years old, her family moved to St. Louis, Missouri. Montgomery was raised a Baptist but is now a Methodist. She sang in the church choir, and dropped out of the 11th grade to sing professionally in 1958.

Music career

Montgomery and two neighborhood friends Frances Hodges and Sandra Harding, started a doo-wop singing group called the Chordettes, which evolved into the Rhythmettes, and they started appearing in talent shows. When Art Lassiter didn't show up for a recording session at Technisonic Studios in March 1960, Turner took the Artettes and had them accompany his backup vocalist Little Ann (Tina Turner) on the track. Turner formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but with a new group of backup singers: Delores Johnson, Eloise Hester, and Jo Armstead. Montgomery was pregnant and unable to tour. After having her baby in 1961, Montgomery toured with blues musician Earl Hooker before she returned to Ike & Tina Turner. Montgomery and Smith along with Venetta Fields (a gospel singer from Buffalo) formed the first official incarnation of The Ikettes. In 1962, Montgomery released her first single,"Crazy In Love" / "Pee Wee" on Turner's Teena Records label.

In 1965, the Ikettes released two of their biggest hits on Modern Records, "Peaches 'N' Cream" (Pop No. 36, R&B No. 28) and "I'm So Thankful" (Pop No. 74, R&B No. 12). As an Ikette, Montgomery performed on the television shows American Bandstand, Hollywood A Go-Go, and Shindig!.

Montgomery, Smith and Fields left the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. After trying unsuccessfully to continue using the name the Ikettes under management of Tina Turner's sister, Alline Bullock, they changed their name to the Mirettes after their new label Mirwood Records. They sang on The Lost Man soundtrack produced by Quincy Jones in 1969.

Montgomery eventually left the Mirettes to join Dr. John as a "Night Tripper" in the 1970s. She provided backing vocals for variety of acts, including Barbra Streisand, Debbie Reynolds, Joe Cocker and Stevie Wonder.

In 1986 and 1987, Montgomery toured Europe with former members of the Kings of Rhythm, including Jimmy Hinds, Clayton Love, Billy Gayles, Erskine Oglesby, Stacy Johnson and Oliver Sain, as part of the St. Louis Kings of Rhythm. The band was officially appointed as ambassadors for the City of St. Louis.

In 2018, Montgomery released her debut album, Miss Robbie's What They Call Me, which was her first release in 40 years. Montgomery hired men out of prison looking for jobs to work in her restaurant.

In 2015, Montgomery was featured in the book The People's Place: Soul Food Restaurants and Reminiscences from the Civil Rights Era to Today. Montgomery told author Dave Hoekstra that managing her own restaurant gave her new appreciation for her former boss Ike Turner. "Back then we all thought he was mean. You had to rehearse. He had his rules. You couldn't have runs in your stockings. But now that I am running a business I know exactly where he was coming from." Before Turner died in 2007, he visited Sweetie Pie's and tipped Montgomery fifty-dollars.

In January 2020, Sweetie Pie's opened a new location in Jackson, Mississippi. Montgomery and Bobby Rush performed at the grand opening.

Accolades In the 1980s, Mayor Vincent Schoemehl appointed the St. Louis Kings of Rhythm, which included Montgomery, ambassadors for the City of St. Louis.

Personal life Montgomery had a son, Andre Montgomery (1961–1995), with Art Lassiter.

Montgomery's son, James Timothy Norman, was born in 1979. At the age of 17, in 1997, Norman and another teenager were charged with a series of felonies and accused of robbing at gunpoint two McDonald's and an auto parts store in Florissant, Missouri. He spent several years in prison, and by 2011, when the family's reality show premiered, Norman was working for his mother at Sweetie Pie's.

Norman managed the Sweetie Pie's restaurant on Manchester Avenue in St. Louis, and later co-owned a location in Jackson, Mississippi where he lived.

On August 18, 2020, Norman was arrested in Jackson for his alleged role in a murder-for-hire plot connected to the 2016 killing of his nephew, Andre Montgomery Jr. Reports indicated that Norman, who faced federal charges and was identified as the sole beneficiary of an insurance policy on Andre, orchestrated the scheme and recruited several individuals—including Memphis exotic dancer Terica Ellis—to carry it out. Norman's trial began on September 6, 2022. After approximately 17 hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty on September 16, 2022. He was sentenced to life in prison on March 2, 2023.

Discography Singles 1963: "Crazy In Love" / "Pee Wee" (Teena 1701)

Albums 2018: Miss Robbie's What They Call Me

Featured as an Ikette/Mirette 1964: Ike & Tina Turner Revue Live (Kent Records) 1965: Live! The Ike & Tina Turner Show (Warner Bros Records) 1965: Fine Fine Fine (Stateside Records) 1967: The Ike & Tina Turner Show (Vol. 2) (Loma Records) 1966: Soul The Hits (Modern Records) 1968: In The Midnight Hour (Revue Records) 1969: Whirlpool (Uni Records) 1987: Fine Fine Fine (Kent Records) 1987: St. Louis Kings Of Rhythm (Timeless Records) 2004: The Bad Man: Rare & Unreissued Ike Turner Produced Recordings 1962–1965 (Night Train International) 2007: Can't Sit Down... 'Cos It Feels So Good: The Complete Modern Recordings (Kent Records)

Backing vocal credits 1971: New York City (You're a Woman) – Al Kooper 1972: Souvenirs – Alex Harvey 1972: Bad But Not Evil – Marjoe 1972: Dr. John's Gumbo – Dr. John 1973: In the Right Place – Dr. John 1973: Triumvirate – Mike Bloomfield, John Hammond Jr. and Dr. John 1973: Truth – King Hannibal 1973: Sharon Cash – Sharon Cash 1973: Brenda Patterson – Brenda Patterson 1973: These Foolish Things – Bryan Ferry 1974: Compartments – José Feliciano 1974: White Lady – Badger 1974: Desitively Bonnaroo – Dr. John 1974: Browning Bryant – Browning Bryant 1975: Hollywood Be Thy Name – Dr. John 1975: Home Plate – Bonnie Raitt 1976: Feelin' Free – Hap Palmer 1977: A Period of Transition – Van Morrison 1988: Have Mercy – Eddie Kirkland 2006: Roots, Blues & Jazz – Bonnie Bramlett

Books Sweetie Pie's Cookbook: Soulful Southern Recipes, from My Family to Yours (2015)