She was born 1941 (or 1943 depending on the reference) in Florida to a Minister father and a missionary mother. As a teenager she went to work for R&B star Big Maybelle as a maid. Big Maybelle encouraged Harris’ talent, and in 1960 she recorded her first single, "Taking Care of Business" b/w "Yesterday's Kisses," for Douglas Records.

Via her association with Big Maybelle, Harris met the mighty Solomon Burke, who recommended her to his producer Bert Berns.

With Berns and Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller at the controls, she re-recorded Burke’s hit ‘Cry To Me’ for Jubilee Records in 1963. This went on to be her biggest hit, hitting #10 R&B and #29 pop. This was rereleased  in 1970 and charted again.  Harris’ version is a slower, deeply soulful take, filled with gospel flavor (aided by an auspicious backing group that included Cissy Houston and Dee Dee Warwick). The slower tempo allows Harris to spread out her velvety tone, exercising a fantastic dynamic range and control, punctuating things with the occasional growl. The flipside, ‘I’ll Be A Liar’ has some of the country/soul flavor of contemporary sides by Burke and Arthur Alexander, with a nice soulful touch at the end of each chorus.

The a-side of the follow up 45, ‘His Kiss’ has a similar sound, but it’s B-side, ‘It’s Dark Outside’ is a fantastic slice of moody, southern soul. Garry Sherman’s arrangement has a deep sophistication, reminiscent of some of the sides Bacharach and David were doing for Scepter with Dionne Warwick and others. The bluesy piano, and prominent placement of Eddie Bert’s mournful trombone make a solid foundation for Harris’s emotion-filled delivery.

The next 45, her last for Jubilee, was ‘Mojo Hannah’, an R&B classic, with lyrics that forecast her voyage into the heart of New Orleans. It was originally recorded by Henry Lumpkin on Motown (co-written by Andre Williams - the lyrics bear his humorous touch), and was also be covered by Larry Williams as ‘Louisiana Hannah’ and would later be a big New Orleans hit for Tami Lynn. The flip, ‘Now Is The Hour’ is another showcase for Harris’ way with a sloooow bluesy number. The way she starts the tune by stretching the word 'now' out to about six syllables is a joy to behold.

Of the two unreleased Jubilee sides, ‘Everybody’s Love’ is standard (over-arranged) pop fare and Harris’ voice is ill-used in this context. ‘Why Don’t You Take Him’ has the same basic failing, in that it seems like Berns, Leiber and Stoller were trying to force Harris into a different mold. While not horrible, it doesn’t contain the grandeur of her best work.

Harris met up with Allen Toussaint while on tour in 1965. Their partnership began with the very first single on the legendary Sansu label. It would last four short years but resulted in some of the finest records to come out of New Orleans (or anywhere else for that matter) in the 60's.