The first female solo artist signed to Motown (at the time then Tamla) Records, Ray Charles collaborator and a Stax singer Mable John has died. She was 91 years old.

John died Thursday, Aug. 25, at her home in Los Angeles. While there was no cause of death shared, her nephew Kevin John told the Detroit News, “We loved her, and she was a kind person.”

The American blues vocalist was born in Louisiana and grew up in the South with her younger brother, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted R&B singer Little Willie John before the John family moved to Detroit in the early ’40s. Like the rest of her family, she set out on a career in music and opened for artists like Billie Holiday. During this time, John also worked at an insurance agency run by Bertha Gordy, the mother of Berry Gordy, who had his eyes set on becoming a music producer. “He had no money and no way of getting around, but he had these people who wanted to hear his songs, so I drove him around,” John said of Gordy.

Gordy would go on to found Tamla in 1958 after one of his earliest songs, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “Got a Job,” failed to lock down distribution. Two years later, Tamla became the iconic Motown Records, and by that time, John was already signed, making her the first female solo act represented by Motown.

While with Motown, John recorded many blues singles, including “Action Speaks Louder Than Words,” “I’m Finally Through with You” (backed by the Supremes, who were at the time called “the Primettes”), “Take Me” and “Who Wouldn’t Love a Man Like That.”

In 1965 as Motown began to take off and with chart-topping soul and R&B hits, John left the label. According to The Detroit News, she said, “Motown was just turning so pop, and I knew I wasn’t pop, but the writers were writing for success. Berry was so busy with the business, and I found myself without a writer to concentrate on me as Berry had concentrated on me.”

Shortly after, John reconnected with her friend, American record producer, songwriter, and record executive Al Bell who convinced her to join Stax Records, a label located in Memphis, Tenn., which he had just taken over. Her first single with Stax, “Your Good Thing (Is About to End),” was written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and became a top 10 single on the R&B charts and went on to be covered by many artists, including Etta James, Bonnie Raitt and the Bar-Kays. After around two years, in 1968, and just a handful of singles later, John left Stax as well. It’s notable that the same year, her brother Little Willie John died in prison following a manslaughter conviction.

She then reemerged as musical director and singer in Ray Charles’ Raelettes backing band. During her time with Charles, she wrote over 50 songs. Later in life, John moved away from pop music and pivoted to the spiritual side of sound, focusing on gospel. She received a doctorate degree in divinity and became a preacher. She also founded Los Angeles’ Joy Community Outreach which helped cloth and feed the homeless and less fortunate.

May she rest in peace. Listen to some of Mable John’s iconic singles below.