Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye, "It Takes Two".
Born Agatha Natalie Weston in Detroit, she started singing in her church choir at age three, and by her teenage years had joined a touring gospel group called the Wright Specials. While the group signed to Motown’s gospel label Divinity in 1960, Kim Weston left after following disputes with the group, she took a year hiatus from performing. In 1961, she performed for Johnny Thorton, a cousin of Eddie and Brian Holland, who successfully convinced her to pursue a music career at Motown. She signed to the Tamla label in 1961.
She scored a minor R&B hit with "Love Me All the Way" in 1963, reaching #24 on R&B charts and #88 on pop charts which secured her as an up-and-coming star. The following year, she recorded her first duet with Gaye, "What Good Am I Without You," but made the tactical error of turning down a chance to record "Dancing in the Street," which subsequently became a smash hit for Martha & the Vandellas. She enjoyed her biggest solo hit in 1965 with "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" and followed it up in 1966 with the equally soulful "Helpless," both of which helped make her reputation among soul collectors.
Her biggest claim to fame was cutting an entire album of duets with Marvin Gaye “Takee Two” in 1966, and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" It was the success of "It Takes Two" that caused Motown to partner Gaye with Tammi Terrell, spawning even more success for the label. By the time it was peaking on the charts in early 1967, however, Weston had already left Motown; and later sued the label over disputes about royalties.
She and her then-husband, producer William "Mickey" Stevenson, (former A&R head at Motown) moved to MGM,. She cut a couple of singles for MGM, "I Got What You Need," and "Nobody," which went largely unnoticed due to lack of airplay and promotion. She made an album for the label, This Is America, which included her popular version of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing". This was released as a single in 1970 and featured in the movie, Wattstax. All the money from the single was donated to the United Negro College Fund.
Weston subsequently recorded for Volt (Kim Kim Kim), and Johnny Nash's Banyan Tree, all without much success. Her marriage to Mickey Stevenson also evaporated in the mid-1970s. but she devoted much time to community projects and art groups, besides finding time to record an album of jazz standards with the Hastings Street Jazz Experience. Weston largely disappeared from the music industry and reportedly relocated to Israel, where she worked with young singers and even starred in a musical called Sound and The Kidnapped African.
Along with many former Motown artists, she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records in 1987, releasing the single "Signal Your Intention", which peaked at No. 1 in the UK Hi-NRG chart. It was followed by the album Investigate (1990), which included some re-recordings of her Motown hits as well as new material. A second album for the label, Talking Loud (1992), was never released, although all the songs were included on the compilation The Best Of Kim Weston (1996).
Kim Weston was the first woman to be inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University in August 2013.
(Edited from Wikipedia, AllMuisic. Soul Walking & Motown Museum)