Music / Film & TV / Religion
Della Reese
1931–2017 · singer, actress, television host, minister
Black Bottom-born singer who went from Detroit gospel choirs and the Flame Show Bar to pop hits, her own talk show and Touched by an Angel.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan (Black Bottom)- Died
Encino, California
aged 86- Birth name
- Delloreese Patricia Early
- Detroit years
- 1931–early 1950s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Della Reese was born Delloreese Early in Black Bottom, the Detroit neighborhood that was the heart of the city's Black community, the daughter of a steelworker and a cook. She sang in her church choir from the age of six, and at 13 gospel star Mahalia Jackson chose her for her touring show, taking her on the road for three summers. Back home she joined the Meditation Singers, the leading Detroit female gospel group of the era, graduated from Cass Technical High School at 15 and studied psychology at Wayne State University until her mother's death. Turning to secular music, she sang at the Oriel Bowling Alley, then won a contest for a week at the Flame Show Bar, an engagement that stretched to eight weeks. From there she went to New York, and in 1959 “Don't You Know?” reached No. 2. A young Martha Reeves admired her so much that she partly named the Vandellas after her.
Highlights
- “Don't You Know?” reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 (1959)
- First Black woman to host her own TV talk show, Della (1969)
- Played Tess on Touched by an Angel (1994–2003)
- Toured with Mahalia Jackson as a teenager
- Ordained minister who founded her own church in Los Angeles
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 5
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Born here · 1931–1940s
Black Bottom neighborhood
Demolished
The historic Black neighborhood east of downtown where she was born; it was razed for urban renewal and I-375 in the 1950s–60s. Lafayette Park stands on part of the area.
Studied here · 1940s
Cass Technical High School
She graduated from Detroit's selective high school at 15. The historic building was replaced by a new one in 2005.
Studied here · 1949
Wayne State University
She studied psychology here before leaving after her mother's death.
Performed here · c. 1950
Oriel Bowling Alley
Closed
One of the first bowling alleys in the region with live entertainment; an early secular singing job.
Performed here · early 1950s
Flame Show Bar
Demolished · 1949–1963
A contest prize of one week here stretched into eight weeks. A Detroit Medical Center parking garage now covers the site.