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| Cut Glass |
| is Mildred Vaney and Ortheia Barnes |
| Cut Glass was actually Mildred Vaney and Ortheia Barnes, both of whom also did double duty as part of the disco group Hott City on Butterfly Records. I am happy to report that both are alive and well. From what I can asertain both ladies are from the Detroit area. I have no picture of Mildred but the picture above is a recent one of Ortheia Barnes. Mildred was a longtime session singer before the disco-era. She is credited as part of the group Quiet Elegance, along with Yvonne Gearing and Lois Reeves (yes! Martha's sister). And was a founding member of the Glories along with Frankie (Yvonne) Gearing and Delores Brown. Within the two groups she had releases on Date and HI records and is credited with a strong jazz and gospel background. Ortheia is the younger sister of R&B great J.J. Barnes. She debuted on Mickay Records in 1962 with two Dorothy Pierce tunes: "Your Picture on the Wall" b/w "Same as Before"; the single did so well locally that ABC Records acquired the licensing and reissued it in 1963. Other recordings include two popular Northern soul selections, "Watch Out Boy," written by J.J. Barnes, Don Davis, and Kirkland Peterson and "I've Never Loved Nobody (Like I Love You)," in 1967 on Coral Records. Coral issued a second single, "Take My Heart and Soul" b/w "Heartbreaker," in 1968; the former was composed by Joe Hunter and Anthony "Tony" Wilson. Her friendship with Vaney led to their recording for Jeffrey Steinberg and Jeffrey Parsons on the 1979 Hott City album "Ain't Love Grand." The duo lent their heavenly voices to the club smashes "I Took His Money" and "Peaks And Valleys." In 1980, she formed Cut Glass with Mildred. The duo had two 12" singles on 20th Century Records. "Alive With Love" b/w "Without Your Love" was a double-sided club smash. "Rising Cost Of Love" b/w "Sometimes Soon" was a smooth down tempo number that has since become a late-night classic. The disco-era was ending and the duo split after an album deal was not forthcoming from the label. Ortheia cut a solo funk tune entitled "Green Eye Monster" in 1984, but nothing came of it. In 1987, she sang at Diana Ross' aunt's funeral with Ross in attendance, the two songbirds were high friends and Ortheia had remained close with the family. At Detroit's WCHB she became a radio personality with her own talk show, "Ortheia's Special Touch," which aired every Wednesday; she also had a cable TV show on Bloomfield Community Television that was broadcast on Booth Cable, but her aim to be syndicated for the show never happened. Later, Barnes married elder Robert L. Kennerly and became Reverend Ortheia Barnes-Kennerly, evangelist and singer; she became part of SpiritLove Ministries and has appeared and performed at many religious and civic functions throughout the country. She celebrated civil rights activist Rosa Parks' 83rd birthday in Nassau, Bahamas, performing with the Freedom Soldiers — who consisted of Barnes, Sandra Feva, Pat Lewis, and Hezekiah Williams. She also performed at the Plymouth Neon Jammin' Ball in 1995 to help introduce a new generation of young Detroiters to the city's historic Music Hall of Fame, and she was also a representative at A Season For Nonviolence with Reverend Jesse Jackson and other luminaries. Barnes-Kennerly is also a member of Michigan's Volunteers of America. Our hats off to two great ladies whose disco output was brief but oh so enjoyable...we love them! |
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