By 1970, singers
Venetta Fields,
Sherlie Matthews and
Clydie King were in high demand as backing vocalists. Fields was previously an Ikette in
The Ike & Tina Turner Revue. King was previously a
Raelette, backing Ray Charles. Matthews was a singer-songwriter at
Mirwood Records and
Motown Records. They joined forces and created the Blackberries, which Matthews named after Motown founder
Berry Gordy. Their single "Somebody Up There" (MW 5020F) was intended to be released on Mowest in June 1972, but was unavailable until
Hip-O Select issued a compilation album
The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 12A: 1972 in 2013. In 1971 the DJ Tom Clay hired them in Los Angeles to record for his hit spoken word record "What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin, and John". In 1972,
Steve Marriott of
Humble Pie asked Fields to find two other vocalists for an album session. Fields chose King and Matthews who were both previously with Raelettes to become the Blackberries. They recorded an unreleased Blackberries album with Humble Pie as the backing band. Their single "Twist And Shout" was released on A&M Records in 1973. The Blackberries also provided backing vocals to the Humble Pie album
Eat It (1973). When Marriott asked them to tour with Humble Pie, Matthews declined due to personal commitments. Matthews chose Billie Barnum as her replacement. The Blackberries toured with Humble Pie in 1973. Guitarist
David Gilmour of
Pink Floyd was friends with Humble Pie drummer
Jerry Shirley. Gilmour asked Shirley if the Pink Floyd could hire the Blackberries for two European concert dates; Marriott reluctantly agreed. The Blackberries consisting of Billie Barnum, Venetta Fields and Clydie King toured with Pink Floyd on the
Dark Side of the Moon Tour in October 1973. By 1974, the Blackberries were Venetta Fields, Billie Barnum, and
Carlena Williams. They appeared on Humble Pie's 1974 album
Thunderbox. That year, Pink Floyd's manager invited them to tour with the band. The duo also sang backing vocals on Pink Floyd's 1975 album
Wish You Were Here and performed on their
North American Tour promoting the album. == Discography ==