Cheryl Mason Jacks

Singer origiinally from Columbus, Ohio. She attended Ohio University until 1973. Now based in Philadelphia. Member of the original line-up of The Ritchie Family in the 1970s, Cas Mijac in 1980 and the re-formed Ritchie Family line up in the 2010s through to the 2020s. Cheryl Mason-Jacks was attending the Philadelphia School Of Performing Arts in the mid-1970s. She was in the same drama class as Cassandra Wooten who was a former member of Honey And The Bees. Later along Wooten and another former member of Honey & the Bees, Gwen Oliver, she became part of the original line up of The Ritchie Family. This came about when the three of them auditioned singing the song "Brazil" which was already a hit credited to the Ritchie Family name. Due to the whole thing being done by session singers and musicians, an actual vocal group was needed. She sang on the Arabian Nights, Life Is Music and African Queens albums as well as the disco classic, "The Best Disco in Town" and "Life is Music" etc.. With "The Best Disco in Town", the trio sing parts of the disco hits of the day. Mason-Jacks sings part of Penny McLean's hit "Lady Bump". They performed at many venues in the United States, Europe and Australia, some off them televised. This came to an end in 1978 when the three members were dismissed and replaced by a new line up. After that period, with Cassandra Wooten, Michelle Simpson and Mason-Jacks became Cas Mijac. Her last name Jacks is represented in the jac part of the name. The first names of other two group members were represented with Cas for Cassandra and Mi for Michelle. They sang back up on John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album. There was a high probability of Mason-Jacks, Wooten and Simpson accompanying Lennon on a tour but his murder ended that possibility. After getting married to her husband Alfred in 1983, she became Cheryl Mason-Dorman. In 2007, the album, Nevertheless He Came by Pacita's Friends was released. A Christian-themed album, all of the material; was composed and produced by Pacita Hill. Mason-Dorman was the featured vocalist on the song, "Whatever He Says, Just Do It!". Having a long career in education in various roles, she was assistant principal at Jules Mastbaum Vocational-Technical High School until 2004 and assistant principal at Stephen Decatur School until 2013. . For years, Mason-Dorman had asked Wooten to start singing again but nothing came of it. Years later Wooten, after seeing other line ups mime to the words of the hits they sang on became affected by what she saw and heard. She decided it was time and contacted Mason-Dorman. For a brief period of time Michelle Simpson was with them and then they stopped for a period of time. Cassandra Wooten, Cheryl Mason-Dorman and Renee Guillory-Wearing became the re-formed Ritchie Family group in the 2000s. Around 2015, they did a live rehearsal of "Music Is My Life" with Mason-Dorman singing lead. The trio had a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Dance Chart with Ice" in 2016. Renee Guillory-Wearing was on lead vocals. IIn 2021, a new song "Whatcha Got" was announced for release in June.