Baby Dee
By Marv Goldberg
© 2026 by Marv Goldberg
Baby Dee had an interesting career, although her personal life is difficult to research. In her day, she was very popular with audiences, but pretty much forgotten today.
Delores "Baby Dee" Spriggs was born on August 1, 1927, in Washington, D.C. She was the daughter of Daniel Spriggs (a "huckster", which meant "comedian") and Ernestine Boggerson (part of a show business family). The June 19, 1954 Pittsburgh Courier would later say of Baby Dee:
The pretty has been in the shadow of the spotlight since infancy. Her mother, Ernestine Boggerson, of the sister act of that name in the 30s, kept her crib in her dressing room.
Delores and her family did their best to avoid those annoying censuses, and were only caught in 1940. As far as I can tell, she was an only child.
However, that 1940 census is interesting. Delores Spriggs (spelled correctly) is living in Washington, D.C., in the household of her grandmother, Alberta Boggerson. Also enumerated are Alberta's children: Dorothy, Elsie, and James, as well as her other daughter, Ernestine Spriggs and her daughter, Delores. There was an "x" next to Ernestine's name, which, in 1940, meant that Ernestine was the one who answered all the questions. In spite of that, instead of listing Daniel Spriggs as "son-in-law" (people were supposed to be shown to be related to the person named as "head"), he was enumerated as "lodger". The only ones to show an occupation were James Boggerson (a physical education teacher) and Daniel Spriggs (a laborer).
On July 27, 1940, the Washington Afro-American printed a list of those who'd registered for the Afro-American's annual Clean Block Campaign. "Dolores Spriggs" was part of the O Street NW crew.
However, you're probably more interested in Delores as a performer. She's first mentioned in the August 24, 1946 New York Amsterdam News:
Baby Dee, new protege of William Campbell, noted pianist, composer, and teacher, is getting the raves from talent scouts of the big recording companies. The girl is one of the most sensational chirpers of the blues to come along since Dinah Washington, they claim.
(Remember, chillun, sentences like those have no meaning at all unless the shadowy "talent scouts" and "they" are named. It's just press agent nonsense.)
Pianist Bill Campbell (William Vance Campbell, Jr) is mostly remembered today as being the writer of Elvis Presley's 1956 release, "One Sided Love Affair". More interesting to us, he was friendly with Joe Davis, owner of Beacon, Davis, and other labels. (Campbell had been the Assistant Recording Manager for Beacon Records in 1943.) He also wrote some songs you may know: the Crickets' "When I Met You", "Be Faithful", and "I'm Not The One You Love", as well as "I'm Going To Live My Life Alone", originally done by the 5 Red Caps. A bigger hit was "Don't Stop Now" by the Piccadilly Pipers. Baby Dee probably met Davis (who'll be back later) through Campbell. Campbell would go on to play with Jerry Colonna & His Dixieland Band, and, later, Red Nichols.
We don't know how Delores Spriggs happened to be hired by Campbell, but she was called "Baby Dee" from the beginning. Was it a nickname she brought to Campbell or did he give it to her? Nothing ever said. At the time, Bill Campbell had a combo called the Harlem Eight.
It looks like Campbell wasn't quick to sign contracts with recording companies, since there were sessions for Deluxe, Apollo, Southern, and Harlem within a short period. Note that all Baby Dee's releases on those labels were written by Campbell, and, as far as I can tell, all of his recordings with Baby Dee were made in New York.
Let's start with Deluxe, at this time owned by Jules and David Braun, of Linden, New Jersey. Around September 1946, they recorded at least two tunes for Deluxe: "Boogie Me" and "Use-To-Be Daddy". These were released in October as "Bill Campbell And His Harlem Eight - Vocal By Baby Dee". (Other Bill Campbell & His Harlem Eight recordings on Deluxe have other leads, such as Thelma Cooper.)
Next seems to have been a four-song session for Apollo Records, in mid-November 1946, that produced: "Look What Baby's Got For You", "I Want To See My Daddy", "Baby Dee Blues", and "Daddy Feel It". None would be released that year. Note that prior Campbell releases on Apollo featured the voice of Vivian Eley.
After that (or at least around that time) was another four-song session, this time for producer J. Mayo Williams: "I'm Gonna Make Him Love Me Like He Never Loved Before", "I Like To Ride", "It Was So Good", and "Got A Man In My System".
Credited to "Bill Campbell And His Harlem Band With Vocalizing Baby Dee", "I'm Gonna Make Him Love Me Like He Never Loved Before" and "I Like To Ride" were released on Williams' Southern label around December 1946.
1947 began with Apollo releasing "I Want To See My Daddy", backed with "Baby Dee Blues" in January. Credited to "Bill Campbell And His Orchestra - vocal by Baby Dee", they were reviewed in the January 27 Cash Box and the March 8 Billboard:
Cash Box: Peg "Baby Dee Blues" as a number packed full of possibilities. The Bill Campbell ork make music here, and the lass that chirps, Baby Dee, pipes pretty all through. The chanteuse has a husky quality in her voice and blends well with the theme of the ditty. It's strictly race wax, and ops [juke box owners] would profit well by latching on. Backed by "I Want To See My Baby" [sic; should be "Daddy"], Baby Dee hits the high notes again and turns in a fair performance. This side adds a bit more bounce and the jazz hounds will like it.
Billboard: Cutting the grooves with a fine little jump band with alto sax and trumpet horns that are schooled in the hot of the Harlem hotteries, Bill Campbell heightens his waxing impression with the inclusion of Baby Dee's dittying for both of these race boogie blues, taken at a bright tempo. A full-voiced blues shouter, gal sings with a beat for the wail that daddy doesn't want to see her in "I Want To See My Daddy". And for "Baby Dee Blues", warns her daddy that she's hep to his cheatin'. Ripe for the race spots, particularly "Baby Dee Blues". [That's really depressingly bad writing.]
Finally, Baby Dee makes an appearance! On January 11, 1947, she appeared at the Putnam Central Club in Brooklyn, but without Bill Campbell. The orchestra was that of Kenny Watts, whose sax player was Morris Lane.
The January 11, 1947 Billboard finally got around to announcing the Apollo signing of Baby Dee. Also on their list were the 4 Vagabonds, whose first Apollo session had been back on November 13, 1946.
In February 1947, "It Was So Good" and "Got A Man In My System" (by "Bill Campbell And His Harlem Band With Vocalizing Baby Dee") were issued on J. Mayo Williams' Harlem label. (Note that Campbell had previously recorded "It Was So Good' on Deluxe, with Thelma Cooper doing the vocal.)
Also in February (I believe), Baby Dee had a session for Sonora records. It was a Chicago company, but the session was held in New York. The four songs were: "It Feels So Doggone Good", "Like He's Never Loved Me Before", "If You've Gotta Go" and "The Last Man I'll Ever Lose". Presumably, it's Bill Campbell backing her.
Nothing more until May, when Apollo issued "Look What Baby's Got For You", coupled with "Daddy Feel It" ("Bill Campbell & His Orchestra - vocal by Baby Dee").
The May 17, 1947 Washington Afro-American printed this report of her Sonora session. There's a tiny chance (no more than 100%) that it was written by a press agent.
NEW YORK-The Sonora record studio recording apparatus was cutting a groove in a blank platter recently, as the voice of a 19-year-old girl was giving a new interpretation of the blues. The musicians and operators suddenly looked up and saw tears streaming down her cheeks as she sang. The voice and the tears were coming from Dolores [sic] (Baby Dee) Spriggs, a Washington, D.C. lass who came out of Randall Junior High School there. The song, of solid blues material, was "There Goes the Last Man I'll Ever Lose."
Baby Dee's presentation is distinctly different because of her ability to forget everything but her excellent timing, and lose herself in her blues with a voice that borders on being torchy but can trail off the close of a bar with an audible whisper.
Baby Dee, whose style is all her own, says that the tune suggested a sad occasion in a young girl's heart, hence the tears didn't come from onions. [Ever notice that all singers, in write-ups like these, have their own style?]
No "personal reason", she added, and said that she doesn't promise to let the teardrops fall every time she sings it.
The other tunes ground out on the platters at the session by her were: "Like He's Never Loved Me Before", "If You've Gotta Go", and "It Feels So Doggone Good".
Baby Dee is no stranger to the entertainment world. Her Washington classmates will remember her being yanked off the Lincoln Theatre stage at 6, as too young, warbling "Darkness on the Delta".
Her mother, Ernestine Spriggs, was a member of one of a Capital City famous act [sic], the Three Boggerson Sisters. Her dad is Danny Spriggs, a Washington comedian. An aunt, "Little Dottie" Boggerson, is presently a drummer with a trio in downtown NYC.
On May 24, 1947, two of the Sonora cuts, "It Feels So Doggone Good" and "Like He's Never Loved Me Before", show up in Billboard's "Advance Record Releases" listing. However, it doesn't look like they were actually released until September. The other two, "If You've Gotta Go" and "The Last Man I'll Ever Lose", show up in Billboard's September 27 Advance Record Releases column.
So, Sonora issued "It Feels So Doggone Good" and "Like He's Never Loved Me Before" ("Baby Dee" and Her Orchestra - presumably Bill Campbell's) in September 1947, but did they ever issue "If You've Gotta Go" and "The Last Man I'll Ever Lose"? While the paperwork had been sent to Billboard in September, no one seems to have ever seen a copy.
"It Feels So Doggone Good" was reviewed in the October 11, 1947 Billboard:
Singing the blues in lusty style and with sultry tones as her small band sets forth a sturdy and steady beat, big-voiced Baby Dee fares best when keeping close to the traditional race blues line in It Feels So Doggone Good. Phrases it hot and hard, with a searing trumpet in back, as she shouts it rhythmically in singing about her sugar daddy. It's a slow blues torch in Never Loved Me Before, with La Belle Baby talking her way thru most of the wordage to make it count as much as her lusty chant. Race spots may show some interest in these sides.
On October 12, Baby Dee was at Brooklyn's Club Calypso, singing "Real Gone Guy"; Bill Campbell wasn't mentioned.
Nor was he there when Baby Dee played the Apollo Theater the week of December 19, 1947, along with the Earl Bostic band. The December 20 New York Age said:
The singing honors in the show will go to Baby Dee, also a newcomer to the Apollo stage. Baby Dee is a youngster and has made recordings for Senora [sic] and Decca records. Her songs run the gamut of musical style. She is at once a blues singer, a singer of rhythm songs, and a singer of sweet and hot ballads. Two of her popular recent recordings are "It Feels So Good" [sic] and "Like You Never Loved Me Before" [sic].
So now, Baby Dee has become famous, but not for the reason you might think. She's joined a elite cast of singers who were mentioned as having recorded for Decca, but who never did (or, at least nothing was ever released by them). The list contains the Rhythm Masters, the Beale Street Boys, Rufus Beacham, Julia Lee, Bobbe Caston, Debbie Andrews, Clarence Samuels, and Numa Lee Davis; I'm sure there were many more. As in the past, I have no explanation for this other than that Decca was one of the most prestigious labels around, so it was good for your career to be associated with it. However, no one ever seems to have falsely claimed to have been with RCA, Mercury, Capitol, or any of the other large labels. A complete mystery.
On April 3, 1948, Baby Dee appeared in the Hideaway Room of Harlem's Hawkins Bar & Grill. Also appearing were Jim Jam And His Musical Boys. That would have been Jimmy "Jim Jam" Smith, who'd been in the Loumell Morgan Trio and was getting ready to rejoin them within a week or two.
And now, a new direction. A May 15, 1948 ad places Baby Dee (Sonora Recording Artist) at the Mayfair Lounge on 125th Street in Harlem. The ad said that she was "assisted by Bill Campbell". He'd given up his combo and, for the next few years, the two would appear as a music/comedy duo.
The December 6, 1948 Asbury Park Press reported that a Red Bank, New Jersey man was being held on charges of having raped "Miss Dolores [sic] Spriggs, New York, an entertainer in a Pine Brook [New Jersey] night club...." However, two days later, the Press reported that she had withdrawn the complaint.
Nothing more for about a year, until October 7, 1949, when Baby and Bill turned up at Detroit's Club El Sino, in the "Rocking Rhythm" revue. She was now being billed as "The Mad Kitty Direct From N.Y.C." and he as "Comedy That's Different And A Sure Blues Killer". They were there for a month.
In November, she was at the Frolic Show Bar (Detroit), along with Gay Crosse & His Good Humor Six. This time, Campbell wasn't mentioned.
Another year went by before "Baby Dee and Bill Campbell (Comedy Team) were advertised again, this time at Uzziel Lee's Club Sensation (Detroit) in late October, 1950. I'm sure that they'd been appearing regularly, but not in places that advertised. The show was mentioned in the October 28 Michigan Chronicle: "Baby Dee and Bill Campbell are cast in the music-comedy spotlight, with the comical Campbell supplying the gag material and Baby Dee parceling out the songs." It's possible that it was just for a single day, but they were also advertised at the Columbia Theater on October 27: "Baby Dee and Canbell [sic] (Sensational Comedy Team)".
November 11, 1950 Detroit papers contained ads for Baby Dee and Bill Campbell at Lee's Club Sensation and also at the Flame Show Bar (without him). I don't really understand that, since the November 4 Michigan Chronicle said that they were both at the Flame, after having just closed at the Sensation. It said: "The two performers get handsome applause when they perform. Baby Dee does the songs, while Campbell plays. The latter also drops heavy jokes all over the place." The Flame show also contained Nellie Hill and Tina Dixon.
The article in the November 11, 1950 Michigan Chronicle was titled "Mad Kitty Makes Flame Folk Howl With High Glee":
If there is one duo in current Motor City show business taking the town by storm, it is the one made up of Baby Dee and Bill Campbell.
Billed as "Baby Dee - The Mad Kitty From New York City", the carrot-topped young singer sends audiences into spasms of laughter and applause at the Flame Show Bar where she is appearing with her droll but thunderously comical piano-pounding partner, Bill Campbell.
A year ago, when Baby Dee appeared on the show lineup at the Club El Sino, there was "nothin' shakin'" with her act. She tried to do love ballads, but with relatively little success.
Campbell was cast as a laugh-getting single. He received a few yuks, but nothing more. Later they teamed together at Lee's Club Sensation. The customers hardly listened.
Then out of public sight they went - for several months.
The rejuvenated act is what the customers are applauding at the Flame Show Bar these days and nights.
Baby Dee draws lightning-quick laughs and plaudits for her comedy antics and for her tagline song, "I'm A Mad Kitty From New York City".
The February 3, 1951 Michigan Chronicle said, of the Flame act:
Baby Dee and Bill Campbell create mad and mirthful moments with their zany and tuneful act. Baby Dee scores heftily with her "Mad Kitty" and "I've Lost The Last Man I'll Ever Lose", with her partner Campbell accompanying her on piano and in comedy soarings.
They were still at the Flame in early March. The last ad was on March 9, by which time Little Miss Sharecropper was the top attraction (you may know her better as "Lavern Baker").
The March 24 Michigan Chronicle had this:
Bill Campbell and "Mad Kitty" Baby Dee shoved off for NYC as did the Calypso Boys [another act that had been at the Flame].
However, I don't know what happened to Bill when they got there. Baby Dee began a long stay at the Club Savannah (Greenwich Village) on July 13, 1951. She was still being advertised on April 17, 1952. However, that couldn't have been a continuous engagement, since later reports have her setting a record there of 22 weeks, much fewer than July through April.
But, fear not, on May 16, she was back at the Flame Show Bar, along with Bill Campbell (although the May 16 Detroit Free Press called them "a new piano and song team"). Also there were Nellie Hill and "Levarn [sic] Baker - Little Miss Sharecropper".
The last mention of Baby Dee and Bill Campbell together was in the May 30, 1952 Flame Show Bar ad. Actually, that was the last mention of Baby Dee until January 17, 1953, when she was at Harlem's Baby Grand.
The February 7, 1953 Chicago Defender called her "Betty Hutton's Shadow":
Baby Dee, new singing sensation, is the girl most critics [unnamed, of course] predict will be the tops in 1953, and rightfully so.
"Miss Personality", as Baby Dee is billed, is an exciting song stylist and boasts loads of personality. She has been hailed in such clubs as the Flame Club in Detroit, Caverns in Washington, stayed a year at the Savannah Club in the Village here in New York. Closing this week at Club Baby Grand here in the city, she opens in Boston at Sugar Hill.
Miss Dee is something on the order of Betty Hutton, a singing comedienne.
The March 7 Washington Afro-American told us: "Baby Dee, song stylist, opens here [Newark] Friday, March 6, at Johnny Annuzzi's Club Caravan. Miss Dee recently closed a two-week engagement at Club Rodnick in Hartford, Conn."
Baby Dee was mentioned in poet and social activist Langston Hughes' syndicated column on March 14. The subject was "Some Wonderful Women I Would Like To Know Better". The list included Eartha Kitt, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Una Mae Carlisle, Olivette Miller, and Hazel Scott. Of Baby, he said: "Baby Dee to tickle me, since she is about the most amusing young singing comedienne I have witnessed of late."
The April 25, 1953 Washington Afro-American talked about her at the local Cotton Club:
Baby Dee, a package of dynamite, returned to her home town here, last week, for the first time in a year, when she opened at [the Cotton] Club, Sunday, April 19.
One of the most wanted entertainers in show business, she just closed at the Ebony Club in Brooklyn, N.Y., and will be at the Cotton Club for two weeks only.
Baby has what it takes to sell a song. She captivates her audiences with the use of her hands and leaves them spellbound.
She sheds real tears, doing her songs with plenty of soul in them. She is managed by Cleon Wilson.
By mid-July, Baby was at the Saxony Club in Brooklyn, near Ebbets Field. [I pause while Dodgers fans brush away the tears.]
Y'know, Baby Dee hasn't been involved in a good bar brawl in a long time. Many papers (such as the September 14, 1953 Brooklyn Daily Eagle) ran a story of a fight that broke out at the Club Savannah while she was performing. Members of two stag parties started a free-for-all when one member was cheering her on ("Swing it; swing it") and another told him to shut up and sit down so he could see the show. The resulting fight, using bottles, glasses, ice buckets, chairs, and even tables, resulted in the Savannah sustaining at least $2,500 of damage, in addition to nearly $300 of unpaid bills as patrons fled. Police finally made 24 arrests for malicious mischief (a felony) and inciting a riot.
After that, Baby was booked into Brooklyn's Suburban Club for two weeks in November. On November 2, she was one of those at the gala premiere of the Dr. Jive show being broadcast from Marty's Riviera in Brooklyn.
By mid-December, she was back in Detroit. Ziggy Johnson's column in the December 19 Michigan Chronicle said: "Baby Dee, the bombshell of songs currently at the Club Alamo, being billed as her first Detroit appearance. I guess they mean without Bill Campbell."
1954 opened with the announcement that Baby Dee was now booked into the Cotton Club in Washington, D.C. The February 6 Washington Afro-American talked about her performance there:
Normally one doesn't sit at a bar and let his beer go flat watching a girl breathe; certainly not in a first class spot like the New Cotton Club, unless that girl is standing under a rose-colored spot in a skin tight gown and she happens to be a young vocalist known as "Baby Dee."
This youthful chirper belongs to that same school of leggy, sexsational singers as Eartha Kitt, Dorothy Dandridge, and Joyce Bryant. All of these specialize in singing teasing lyrics pointed up with wiggly hips, sly gestures and intimate voices.
The Baby does all these things - which at the time seems as much as any man can stand. But then at the oddest moments she interrupts her song with a slow deliberate deep breath. No one who hasn't witnessed it can truly appreciate the anatomic ritual this tall curvesome Miss, in a gown so tight it must be sewn on, goes through to take a deep breath. It has a devastating effect on the male audience.
The first time it happens they don't expect it, the second time it happens, they don't believe it, and the third time... well as one gent was heard to mutter as he clung weakly to his glass of flat beer, "I'm afraid her next breath will be my last."
The February 13, 1954 Afro-American, not to slight the rest of her family, had a photo of her father, with this caption:
BABY DEE'S POP - Daniel Spriggs, 44, of 616 Second St. SW, father of Blues Singer Baby Dee Spriggs, paints the fender on his car in front of his home. Mr. Spriggs, who is huckster [comedian], said a truck hit his 1949 Olds while it was parked. First he put on a priming white coat which takes two or three days to dry, and then he will paint it black. His wife is Mrs. Lula Spriggs.
This shows us two things: first, they were desperate for articles to waste space, and second, somewhere along the way Daniel's wife had switched from Ernestine to Lula (who was with him in the 1950 census). However, prepare to be confused about that in 1959.
The April 3, 1954 Billboard said that Stan Pat, a DJ and music director at Trenton's WTNJ, had quit his job to become a manager; two of the acts he managed were Bertice Reading and Baby Dee. By May 1, the Jolly Joyce agency of Philadelphia had become her booking agent. The May 1 Billboard said of the agency:
It also has Romaine Brown and the Romaines taking in Jackie Heller's Carousel, Pittsburgh, before a May 3 fortnight at Chubby's, Collingswood, N.J. With the Chubby's booking, Joyce adds Baby Dee as a permanent member of the Romaines.
Permanent was, of course, a relative term, since Chubby's was the only time that advertised both acts. The May 8 Cash Box confused it even more: "Baby Dee, MGM thrush, begins a two-week engagement at Chubby's in Camden, N.J. on May 3." Notice it doesn't even mention the Romaines (although, fortunately, I was able to find a single ad from Chubby's with both acts named).
[Wait, what??? Did you just say "MGM thrush"? When did that happen? Why haven't you told us about it?] While I know it's coming, it won't be for a while and I'm as surprised as you are at this point.
As soon as the Chubby's gig was over, Baby Dee appeared [sans Romaines], on May 20, at the Palace Theater in Buffalo, New York. Also on the bill were Jubilee's Top Notes (formerly the Songmasters on Commodore and the Key Notes on Skyscraper - see my Do Ray Me Trio article). The Palace ad also called her an "M-G-M Records Song Stylist".
Baby Dee's signing with M-G-M was announced in the July 13, 1954 Billboard. At the time, she was at the Atlantic City Cotton Club. Of course, following industry practice, her signing wasn't announced until she'd already done some recording. On June 15, she'd recorded four tracks: "Hold The Light For Me", "You Indian Giver", "Don't Live Like That No More", and "He Ain't Mine No More".
From June 18-20, she ("Personality Personified") appeared in the Rose Room of the Town Hill in Brooklyn. Then, it was back to the Atlantic City Cotton Club, starting on July 2 (the last ad was on August 7).
In July, M-G-M issued "Don't Live Like That No More", backed with "Hold The Light For Me", credited to "Baby Dee".
The July 31, 1954 Cash Box informed us:
That Baby Dee is some baby as you can see. The stormy looking gal recently broke a record set by Billy Daniels when she appeared 22 straight weeks at the Club Savannah, New York. Thrush records for MGM and is managed by Stan Pat.
The M-G-M disc was reviewed in the August 7, 1954 editions of both Billboard and Cash Box:
Don't Live Like That No More (BB; 75): Over a rocking beat, Baby Dee sings out her happiness in having a new love who doesn't mistreat her. Baby Dee has a voice quality and style which occasionally approaches Ruth Brown - which is to say, she has personality and class. This is talent that has to be watched.
Hold The Light For Me (BB; 70): The singer works hard to project emotion and meaning into this light-weight material and very nearly succeeds. Backing on both sides is solid, and is supplied by the Leroy Kirkland ork.
Hold The Light For Me (CB; C+): Baby Dee sings a romantic plea with that "Shake A Hand" kick. The thrush sings the tune in a restrained and soft manner.
Don't Live Like That No More (CB; C+): The flip is a middle tempo rocker which the chantress socks out with more zest. The gal sings [that] she's worth running after and she don't have to take it from her cheatin' man.
The August 7 Philadelphia Tribune reported that Atlantic City's Cotton Club was not doing well and that "the show would come to a close over the coming week-end...."
If you like amalgamations, the October 15, 1954 Jersey City Journal said:
Baby Dee, billed as "America's Most Imitated Song Star". Same ads announce she's Sarah Vaughan, Eartha Kitt, and Nellie Luther [sic], "All Rolled Into One". Confusing, no? [Actually, it said "All Rolled Into Oone".]
When she played the Show Boat (Philadelphia), the November 6 Philadelphia Tribune had this:
At the Show Boat recently was a gal named Baby Dee. When Delores Spriggs, better known as "Baby Dee", appears before the spotlight, anything can happen and we mean ANYTHING. Even a riot! [it went on to talk about the brawl at the Savanna Club the prior year.]
M-G-M held a second session on November 11, 1954. The two known titles were "Stout Hearted" and "When I Cry". The latter tune was released in December, with "He Ain't Mine No More" as the flip.
On November 22, she opened at the Celebrity Club in Providence, Rhode Island. After that, it was the Club Casino in Baltimore, along with the Paul Williams Sextet.
In early 1955, she was at the Crossroads Club in Washington, D.C. On February 11 and 12, she appeared at the Farmers Market in Brooklyn, giving out autographed copies of "He Ain't Mine No More".
The record was reviewed in the February 12, 1955 Billboard and the February 19 Cash Box:
He Ain't Mine No More (BB; 74): A spritely novelty ditty receives a lively vocal from the thrush over a swingy backing by the ork. Side is a bright one and could get some action. It moves.
When I Cry (BB; 73): When she cries over her man, she really cries, sings the thrush, on this up-tempo novelty. Baby Dee sells it with a lot of feeling, and it deserves spins.
He Ain't Mine No More (CB; C+): Baby Dee sings a middle tempo bouncer with a Latin feeling. Fair etching.
When I Cry (CB; B+): Baby Dee comes up with a strong item in another bouncer with a cute gimmick. A wailing countervoice gives the deck individuality.
On May 27, she began a week at Weekes' Cocktail Lounge in Atlantic City. The ad said "Tiny Grimes And His Rocking Highlanders - Featuring Baby Dee". Starting with June 1, her name appeared before his in the ads. Since this was the only time their names appeared together, this was just another case of two acts being in the same place at the same time.
Here's one that's totally bewildering, from the May 28, 1955 Billboard: "M-G-M's Baby Dee, after all these years, has changed her name to Pamela Dodge. She hasn't looked like a baby for some time." This is the only time "Pamela Dodge" was ever mentioned in Billboard and there are no appearances or recordings by anyone of that name.
On August 15, Baby Dee, along with Jerry Vale, was at Palisades Amusement Park. August 26 found her back at the Apollo Theater, along with the James Moody band and the Decca Cavaliers.
There was one more M-G-M session, at an unknown date in 1955. The four titles were: "Zoom De De Ho Ho", "I Wished You Out Of My Mind" [note that she actually says "washed", not "wished"], "Unless You Love Me", and "Find The One Meant For You".
On September 2, she was back at Palisades Park, once again with the Cavaliers, and this time with Jill Whitney. She was there again the following week, for the last time, as part of a Murray Kaufman show.
In October, M-G-M issued "Unless You Love Me", coupled with "Zoom De De Ho Ho". This time , the record was credited to "Dolores (Baby Dee) Spriggs". They were reviewed in the November 19 Billboard:
Zoom De De Ho Ho (69): Forceful chanting with lots of gimmicks - laughing and hollers - figure to give this entry some special attention.
Unless You Love Me (67): Rhythmic novelty with a solid thumping beat is sung gleefully. Super cute delivery might intrigue listeners.
Baby Dee then disappears for a year until a September 17, 1956 ad puts her at the Crossroads, in Washington, D.C.
At the end of the year, she was at Brooklyn's Town Hill Steak House, along with a list of stars: Manhattan Paul, Luis Russell, Irwin C. Watson, and Austin Powell's re-formed Cats & The Fiddle.
And then, a different direction. Remember that I said Bill Campbell was friendly with Joe Davis? Through that association, Baby Dee probably became acquainted with Davis. Not only that, but Davis was also an independent producer for M-G-M, heading up their R&B department. Although he'd left to start Jay-Dee Records before Baby Dee was an M-G-M artist, the parting was amicable and she might have met him there.
Now, in 1957 Davis was recording raunchy "party record" albums for his Beacon label. One of them, My Pussy Belongs To Daddy, contained two songs by "Miss Dee": "Things Are Soft For Grandma" and "Hey, Mr. Ice Man". Remember that Baby was noted as having a sexy act.
April 1957 papers talked about a 300 pound drummer with Carmen Cavallero's orchestra - he was called "Baby Dee".
The September 9, 1957 Billboard reported that she'd been signed by Monty Delaney and Frank Gould's Brooklyn-based Zebra Records. She recorded at least two tunes for them, both written by Bill Campbell: "I Cried The Last Time" and "You Don't Have To Be A Fool (To Fall In Love)".
The tunes were released in March 1958 and were reviewed in the April 5 Cash Box and the April 7 Billboard:
I Cried The Last Time (CB; B): Baby Dee gives a rhythmic reading to a slow beat blues. It comes off in good style, but doesn't sound like what the teenager is buying.
You Don't Have To Be A Fool (To Fall In Love) (CB; C+): Baby Dee backs with a slow, insinuating blues that is well done. Should appeal to the adult audience.
Billboard didn't comment, but stuck them in a section titled "The following records, also reviewed by The Billboard music staff, were rated 70 or less".
From July 4-31, "Baby Dee's All Star Show", featuring Crying Tommy Brown and Elaine Johnson appeared at the Ko Ko Club in D.C. At the end of August, she was at the Casbah, also in D.C.
Another couple of mysteries. In July 1959, Baby's mother, Ernestine Elizabeth Spriggs, died. Her obituary, in the July 11 Evening Star, said:
1. "devoted wife of Daniel Spriggs and beloved mother of Delores Spriggs". Remember, in that 1954 blurb about Daniel painting his car, his wife was named Lula. That's who he was married to in the 1950 census (and they lived with his mother-in-law, who was named "Metts", not "Boggerson"). The only two choices I can think of are that Daniel and Ernestine remarried after 1954 or that, for some reason, it looked better in the obituary to pretend that they were still married. He would die in 1987, but there's no obituary.
2. "She also leaves to mourn their loss ... one grandson, Daniel James Spriggs, jr." This is something else that makes no sense to me. Delores was Daniel and Ernestine's only child. Therefore, DJS, jr would have to be Delores' son (by an unknown father). On top of that, you don't call a grandson "junior", only a son. On top of that, her father, Daniel, doesn't have a middle name in any official record (Social Security, WW2 registration, censuses). There was a Daniel James Spriggs, jr., born in January 1944, who lived in D.C. but other than some addresses, there's no detail about him.
You think this stuff is easy?
In October 1959, "Miss Dee" recorded at least 10 more songs for Joe Davis. These, plus the two from 1957, were released that year in a Davis LP called Sexarama - Miss Dee (see discography). Two of them ("It's What's Up Front That Counts" and "Oh! What A Jock") were released on a Beacon single, probably in 1959 also.
Nothing at all about her in 1960. After this, most of her appearances would be in Long Island, New York. If you've never heard of the town, assume it's there.
The October 25, 1961 Newsday (Long Island, NY) reported: "Harold Snyder has a money-winning show at his Golden Slipper night club, Glen Cove, this week. It's the Cotton Club Revue, featuring Mauri Leighton, Baby Dee, and a company of 35."
On November 24, she was at the Empire Room of The County Line (Farmingdale, NY). Nothing more until June 1962, when she was at the Linden Beach Club in Flushing (Queens, New York).
July 1962 saw the release of Baby's last record: "Sittin' Here Wond'rin'", backed with "Pretty Eyed Baby", on the Amber label.
The July 7, 1962 Indianapolis Recorder had a small blurb about someone named Baron Harris. The relevant part went:
He is also playing at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., and is presently one of the stars on the hilarious comedy revue, The Twist Side Story, with a galaxy of stars, including such names as Baby Dee, Vince Mazzi and the Melotones, Cook & Brown, Bobbi Parker, and the Lou Parks Singers.
The Amber record was reviewed in the July 28, 1962 Billboard and the August 8 Cash Box:
Billboard: no review; it's in a column called "Limited Sales Potential".
Sittin' Here Wond'rin' (CB; B+): Lark belts with blues-styled strength against an uninhibited combo pose that'll give the most talented twisters a run-for-their-money. King-Kong sound from the New York-based label. [While I agree with the rating, it's by no means a twist beat.]
Pretty Eyed Baby (CB; B): Calmer seas in a good shuffle-beat outing on the oldie.
From the September 13, 1962 Jet: "Mercer Ellington wrote the music and lyrics for the revue The Twist Side Story, which played for 10 weeks in top Catskill resort hotels." Since those were the days when I spent several weeks in the Catskills during the summer each year, did I see this? There were traveling shows that went from hotel to hotel and, while I don't specifically remember it, I might have seen it.
On October 6, Baby appeared at the Riviera in Port Washington, along with comedian Gene Baylos (whose name was mangled to "Baylof" in the ad). On October 13, it was the Driftwood Room of the Brightwaters Club in Brightwaters. November 24 found her at the Smart Set in Island Park. All three were on Long Island.
Nothing more until August 10, 1963, when she was at the Bagdad, in Hartford, Connecticut. On August 24, it was the Paddock International in Atlantic City, before returning to the Bagdad on August 31. Then, back to Long Island, where she appeared at the Starphire Room (Levittown) on November 15.
From January 3-31, 1964, Baby Dee ("Singing Sensation Of L.I.") was at the Kitten Klub in Wantagh [pronounced WAN-taw for all you non-native New Yorkers].
On March 20, she was at the Shore Club in Sayville, NY, before coming back to the Kitten Klub for March 27-28. Wandering off to the foreign shores of Brooklyn, she appeared at Downey's on October 18. The ad said the "Jan Monroe Quartet feat. Baby Dee", although she never seemed to appear with them again.
Nothing for a year, until she showed up at the Polynesian Room (downstairs) in Elmira, New York for a week beginning November 20, 1965. (This one's in upstate New York, near Corning, Ithaca, and Binghamton, and just south of Horseheads.) Unfortunately, the ads called her "Delora 'Baby' Dee".
On May 21, 1966, she was at the Americana Country Club in Plainview, Long Island. In August, it was the Crystal Room in Manhattan. That was the last mention, ever, of Baby Dee.
I can't find a death record for Delores "Baby Dee" Spriggs, but there are a couple of online family trees that give the date as May 6, 2018 in D.C. Assuming that's true, she was 90; what did she do with the last 52 years of her life? She doesn't seem to have ever been married, but it's reasonable to assume that the Daniel James Spriggs, Jr that I mentioned before was her son.
Baby Dee was a good singer who never had a hit record. She thus joined the legion of entertainers who were popular in person, but not on recordings.
DELUXE (Bill Campbell And His Harlem Eight - Vocal By Baby Dee)
1043 Boogie Me / Use-To-Be Daddy - ca 10/46
SOUTHERN (Bill Campbell And His Harlem Band with Vocalizing Baby Dee)
126 I'm Gonna Make Him Love Me Like He Never Loved Before / I Like To Ride - ca 12/46
APOLLO (Bill Campbell & His Orchestra - vocal by Baby Dee)
380 I Want To See My Daddy / Baby Dee Blues - ca 1/47
HARLEM (Bill Campbell And His Harlem Band with Vocalizing Baby Dee)
1010 It Was So Good / Got A Man In My System - 2/47
APOLLO (Bill Campbell & His Orchestra - vocal by Baby Dee)
386 Look What Baby's Got For You / Daddy Feel It - 5/47
SONORA ("Baby Dee" and Her Orchestra - presumably Bill Campbell's)
113 It Feels So Doggone Good / Like He's Never Loved Me Before - ca 9/47
115 If You've Gotta Go / The Last Man I'll Ever Lose - 9/47
It's possible that 115 was never issued.
M-G-M (Baby Dee)
11790 Don't Live Like That No More / Hold The Light For Me - 7/54
55002 He Ain't Mine No More / When I Cry - 12/54
55013 Unless You Love Me / Zoom De De Ho Ho - 10/55
The above record was credited to "Dolores (Baby Dee) Spriggs"
UNRELEASED M-G-M
You Indian Giver (recorded 6/15/1954)
Stout Hearted (recorded 11/11/54)
I Wished You Out Of My Mind (recorded 1955)
Find The One Meant For You (recorded 1955)
BEACON (a Joe Davis Label)
305 My Pussy Belongs To Daddy - various artists - 57
Things Are Soft For Grandma - Miss Dee
Hey, Mr. Ice Man - Miss Dee
ZEBRA (Baby Dee)
120 I Cried The Last Time / You Don't Have To Be A Fool (To Fall In Love) - 3/58
DAVIS (all except ** were recorded in October 1959)
JD-120 Sexarama - Miss Dee - 59
It's What's Up Front That Counts
Oh! What A Jock
She Sits On His Lap And Bawls
She Kissed Him In The Hallway And He Shot Across The Street
I'm Wild About That Thing
He Broke It Off Inside Of Her
How Far Should A Girl Go?
Mrs. Kanner's Can
Sweet Fat Mama
Things Are Soft For Grandma **
For Men Only
Hey, Mr. Ice Man **
** these came from the 1957 Beacon 305 LP, above
BEACON (Miss Dee)
789 It's What's Up Front That Counts / Oh! What A Jock - 1959?
From the 1959 Miss Dee LP Sexarama
AMBER (Baby Dee)
208 Sittin' Here Wond'rin' / Pretty Eyed Baby - 7/62
