Reese enjoyed dual careers, first as a jazz and pop singer and later as a TV star on CBS’ ‘Touched By An Angel’.
Her representative, Lynda Bensky, confirmed her death to USA TODAY, noting, “We lost a magnificent woman who was a trailblazer in many ways.”
Reese’s singing career began in church, when she joined the junior gospel choir at the Olivet Baptist Church at the age of six in her hometown of Detroit. Soon she was singing at other churches, at civic events and on the radio.
When Mahalia Jackson, known as The Queen of Gospel Music, came to Detroit, she needed a singer to replace a member of her troupe. She turned to Reese, who was only 13.
Jackson was so impressed by the teenager’s voice that she enlisted her for a summer tour, and Reese went on to tour with her for five summers.
The singer went on to form her own group, the Meditation Singers, in the late 1940s and signed a deal with Jubilee Records in 1953, with whom she released six albums largely composed of jazz standards.
Reese is survived by her husband, Franklin Lett, and three children.
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