Her show business career began – under the name Barbara Ann Sanders, having taken the name of Lillian's second husband[2][3] – when she was 8 years old, playing the part of Tanya in the 1953 feature film Bright Road.

For a number of years, a common but mistaken belief held that her mother and Steve were siblings, making him Randolph's uncle (although she may have affectionately referred to him as such).

James "Jay" Price, a member of the Red Caps from 1952 to 1958, explained that Steve and Lillian only jokingly called each other "sister" and "brother", but they were not related.

[4] The story apparently started with a December 31, 1953, article in JET that referred to them as siblings, in Major Robinson's gossip column—which often carried the most outrageous (and unverified) claims from press agents.

[16] In 1969 and 1970, Randolph issued two singles on the LHI label: "Woman to That Man" and "Miracle on 19th Street", but neither got beyond the status of promotional recordings.