Pearlean Gray

Pearlean Graves was born in 1940 in the Miltontown area of Guilford County, United States. Her father died when she was 14 months old. When her mother remarried four years later, the family moved to Sedalia. She joined her family in the choir at McLeansville First Baptist Church, showing her singing talent there and at Sedalia High School. Her high school principal offered her the chance to work in Connecticut after graduation. Jerry Greenberg's New Haven, based band recorded as backup musicians on several labels under The Passengers and other names. If time was left in a session, the band could record its own tunes. Greenberg invited Pearlean along. Glover remembers recording "For Your Love," with Greenberg mouthing the words to her. The recording made its way to Don Costa Productions. Pearlean continued recording and touring with The Passengers. Greenberg's own label, Green-Sea Records, released her version of the Theola Kilgore hit "The Love of My Man," with Jackson's "I Don't Want to Cry." She brushed elbows with the famous, including singers Chuck Jackson and Chubby Checker. She sang on television dance programs in Hartford, Conn., and Washington and sang with Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers