Born on February 25, 1942, Flora Williams spent her childhood in
North Carolina. She began singing in church at the age of 13, and during high school she sang in the vocal group called the Delvettes. After graduation she relocated to
Buffalo, New York. In Buffalo, she sang at the nightclub the Shalimar Club where she opened for headliners. Williams sang in the Corinthian Gospel Singers with
Venetta Fields who became an Ikette in the
Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Williams joined the revue in the early 1960s. She released a few singles written and produced by
Ike Turner on his labels
Teena Records and
Sonja Records. After her tenure as an Ikette, she returned to Buffalo, and later toured with the Avengers which included two other vocalists Hank Mullen and Moe Jones. She released a single under the name Carlena Weaver on the homegrown Audel label in 1967. Some time after, she released another single on Mo Do Records, owned by William Nunn (father of R&B singer
Bobby Nunn). Williams paired up with Venetta Fields as
The Blackberries, which had been the name of a group Fields formed with singer
Clydie King. In 1973, they were working with Humble Pie when Pink Floyd guitarist
David Gilmour convinced them to sing with
Pink Floyd. Fields sang on their
Dark Side of the Moon Tour and Williams was on their
1974 French Summer Tour. Williams and Fields also provided vocals for Pink Floyd's album
Wish You Were Here (1975). In 1975, Williams released a solo single on Venice Records. Through the latter part of the decade she sang backing vocals for various artists, including
Roy Buchanan,
The Carpenters,
Bonnie Raitt,
Van Morrison, and
Donna Summer. She also contributed vocals to
David Gilmour's first solo album
David Gilmour (1978). In 1984, she recorded for Broadcast Records located in North Carolina. Williams released her self-published autobiography,
A Promise Is A Promise, in 2006. She died on November 13, 2013. == Discography ==