Birth nameDelloreese Patricia Early Birth information6 July 1931, Detroit, Michigan, USA BioDella began singing in her hometown of Detroit when she was 6 years old. As a teenager, she toured with gospel great Mahalia Jackson and, at the age of 18, she formed the Meditation Singers and became the first performer to take gospel music to the casinos of Las Vegas. She was a vocalist with the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra and began making her own records. She was nominated for a grammy award as Best Female Soloist in Gospel music in 1987. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, producer Franklin Lett.