MOTOWN legend Bertha Barbee McNeal has died after battling colon cancer.
The music star, who was part of the hit group The Velvelettes, passed away in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Thursday.
1
McNeal. 82, had been in a hospice for several weeks after her colon cancer had advanced.
She last performed with The Velvelettes in Kalamazoo in July.
Read Related Also: Loyola University Chicago scholarship honors Mamie Till-Mobley, mother of Emmett Till
Lead singer Cal Gill Street told the Detroit Press that McNeal was an “angel”.
She told the Detroit Press: “I’ve lost my dearest friend. Bertie was a precious lady. I never heard any profanity, I never heard her speak ill of anybody, even if she was upset.
“She would get beyond that, like an angel here on earth. In the group, she was the glue that kept us from choking.”
The Velvelettes were best known for their hit track “Needle in a Haystack” which reached number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
