Kathleen Rae "Kathy" Wakefield is an American songwriter, singer and fiction author known for co-writing The Supremes' hit single "Nathan Jones" that was released by Motown and used as a soundtrack for the film Rain Man and for co-writing the Grammy-winning song "One Hundred Ways".
Personal life and education
Kathleen Rae Wakefield grew up in the Seattle area and attended the University of Washington. She divides her time between Los Angeles and Seattle, having previously lived part-time in London.[1]
Career
She began her musical career singing in the 1960s with Dotty Harmony, performing as Dotty and Kathy. They released the pop single "The Prince of My Dreams," which was written by David Gates.[2] Her first song, "Stand Tall," was co-written with Dotty Harmony and recorded by The O'Jays. Prior to her career in music, she was a showgirl at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.[3]
"One Hundred Ways," co-written by Wakefield, Benjamin Wright, and Tony Coleman, was performed by James Ingram and produced by Quincy Jones for James's debut album, The Dude. It debuted in December 1981 in the Top 40's "Hot 100."[11]
Books
Wakefield's first book, a novella titled Snaketown, was published in 2010 by Cleveland State University Poetry Center.[12] Her second book, In The Foam Of The Blue Waves, was released by Pen and Brush in October 2015.[13]