Tobi Lark was born (named Bessie Gupton) in Alabama and raised in Detroit, where, like many soul and r&b singers, she performed in church choirs as a young girl. The daughter of gospel singer Emma Washington, Tobi got her first job in showbiz by singing with B.B. King, and went on to a career backing up The Impressions, The Four Tops, Ben E. King, Wilson Pickett, King Curtis, Cannonball Adderley and Duke Ellington, among others. She also recorded a few Northern Soul singles under the name Tobi Legend. Towards the end of the '60s, Lark moved to Montreal after a divorce and eventually wound up in Toronto, where she performed with Ronnie Hawkins, landed a lead role in a production of Hair and started up her own musical revue at a club named The Blue Orchid. She also recorded the single I'm posting today with a group of Toronto-based musicians collectively billed as "Toronto." Ms. Lark not only sang Freedom Train, but also wrote it. Those were some of the best times of her life. After that her trail goes a little cold, although the article in this post's very first link mentions that she moved back and forth between Windsor, Detroit and Toronto, continued to perform as a solo and backup singer into the mid-'90s, and that, tragically, her son died. Ms Lark was unable to face the music for serveral years and now has found once again her destiny in life, to fill many of ears and hearts with her voice. Still singing, and still has that distinctive voice, now more powerful and soulful then ever before. Ms. Lark is currently in studio and will be releasing in 2011. Your can contact her at tobilegendlark@gmail.com. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.