Linda Lewis, who has died aged 72, was a soul singer with an exceptional voice whose solo career encompassed more than a dozen albums and four UK Top 40 hit singles. She was also in demand as a backing vocalist for artists including David Bowie, Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), Rod Stewart, Joan Armatrading and Jamiroquai, and during the 1970s became one of Britain’s leading female singer-songwriters.
Lewis’s vocal dexterity – her voice ranged across five octaves and drew comparisons with Minnie Riperton – did not always seem to get the material it deserved, and at times she was pushed by record companies and producers into pop and disco experiments. But there was renewed interest in her compositions during the last two decades of her life, and tributes were paid by a newer generation of musicians, including the rapper Common, who sampled her song Old Smokey in his 2005 hit Go!, and Basement Jaxx, with whom she collaborated on the track Close Your Eyes (2006).
