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Born Agatha Nathalia Weston in Detroit, Michigan, United States, Weston was signed to Motown in 1961, scoring a hit with "Love Me All the Way" (R&B No. 24, Pop #88). "Love Me All the Way" was originally the B-side to "It Should Have Been Me", however, it was switched when a DJ reacted to "Love Me All the Way".  Weston's biggest solo hits with Motown were "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (R&B No. 4, Pop No. 50, later covered by the Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Jermaine Jackson, the Doobie Brothers, and Phil Collins), and "Helpless" (R&B No. 13, Pop No. 56,).

 

Her biggest claim to fame was singing the classic hit "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye in 1966, and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing".  The success of "It Takes Two" caused Motown to partner Gaye with Tammi Terrell, spawning even more success for the label.

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Weston left Motown in 1967 and later sued the company over disputes about royalties.  She and her then-husband William "Mickey" Stevenson (former A&R head at Motown) moved to Los Angeles and began their career with MGM Records, with Stevenson running his label at MGM.   Weston completed a few singles for MGM, "I Got What You Need" and "Nobody," which went largely unnoticed due to lack of airplay and promotion.   She made an album for the label, This Is America, which included her popular version of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing".  This was released as a single and featured in the movie, Wattstax.  All the money from the single was donated to the United Negro College Fund.   She recorded several more albums for various labels, Stax/Volt.   Among them, she made duets with Johnny Nash.   

 

Weston reportedly relocated to Israel, where she worked with young singers.   She also participated in a musical called Sound and the Kidnapped African.

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Weston made a guest appearance on The Bill Cosby Show (1969–1971), in episode No. 50 in March 1971.  Along with many former Motown artists, she signed with Ian Levine's Motorcity Records in the 1980s, releasing the single "Signal Your Intention", which peaked at No. 1 in the UK Hi-NRG chart.   It was followed by the album Investigate (1990), which included re-recordings of her Motown hits. 

 

A second album for the label, Talking Loud (1992), was never released, although all the songs were included on the compilation The Best Of Kim Weston (1996).

 

Kim Weston was inducted into the inaugural class of the Official Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame at Cleveland State University in August 2013.