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Delores Washington

Delores Washington was a member of the Gospel singing group [a1013997]. Her pure, silvery soprano was ‘always that sound that made The Caravans’ background so great. She was a trained operatic singer, having studied at a music conservatory. She joined [a1013997] in 1958. She became known as the Gospel Princess for her youthful vibrancy and trained soprano voice. Around that time, the lineup also included [a731527], [a573739], [a38202], and [a1089762]. [a2493510], who played piano with The Caravans and was Washington’s neighbor in Robins, Illinois and had recommended Dolores to Albertina Walker. Young Delores looked up to [a731527], a fellow Caravan who was considered one of the queens of gospel. Even as she developed a thriving solo career, Delores also remained a stalwart member of The Caravans. As she once put it in a filmed publicized interview, “They (singers) can come, and they can go, and they can come, and they can go, but I ain’t going nowhere.” In 1968, she ventured off with her solo career which started with [a1838019]. Her musical relationship with [a573738] opened the way for several solo albums accompanied by James on the Savoy Gospel Label. She also toured Europe singing with [a6850917]. She battled various forms of cancer several times throughout her life beginning in the 1970's. Mrs. Delores Washington-Green’s powerful singing continued even after treatment for cancer and in 2019, she received the Dr. Bobby Jones Legends honor at the Stellar Gospel Music Awards in Las Vegas.