R&B singer Mable John was born on November 3, 1930, in Bastrop, Louisiana to Mertis and Lillian John. As the eldest of ten children, John began singing with her siblings as a child, putting on programs and singing traditional gospel tunes while her mother played the guitar.

Mable John, died Thursday in Los Angeles, according to her nephew Kevin John. She was 91. “We loved her and she was a kind person,” said Kevin of his aunt, who in recent years fed the homeless via her Los Angeles charity.

Mable John’s children: Who are her four sons?

Mable John was married four times and had four sons: Jesse, Joel, Otis, and Lemuel. Lemuel survives her, as well as several grandchildren. In 1958, John became the first female artist on Gordy’s new label Tamla. Although her first song, “Who Wouldn’t Love a Man Like That”, did not make the pop charts, it established John as a popular live performer. She sold out shows at the Apollo Theater in New York City and The Howard Theater in Washington

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