Ripperton joined after the Gems disbanded, and a solo recording, "Lonely Girl" (1966) as Andrea Davis, flopped. A debut issued in April 1967, "My Baby's Real" b/w "Loving You Is Something New," didn't do much, though both sides were written by Billy "Roquel" Davis, guitarist Gary Jackson, and blind pianist Raynard Miner; nor did a final single, "I Wanna Be Good to You" b/w "Watered Down" (1968). Ripperton left and hooked up with Rotary Connection; when they called it quits, she went solo again under her real name, scoring hits and drawing rave reviews before cancer tragically cut her life and career short in 1979. ~ Andrew Hamilton