Willie Frances Nero (née Peak; March 13, 1943 – November 28, 2014) was an American soul and jazz singer.
She performed on local radio, and sang lead vocals with two local groups, the Tams (not The Tams) featuring William "PO Bill" Mills, and the Untils, a group of classmates who included Stanley Baird, Bynum Griffin and Clifford Cotton, some of whom went on to play with such stars as Chuck Jackson and James Brown.
She had two children, and sang jazz in nightclubs, before entering a talent contest on WCHB, the soul radio station in Detroit, sponsored by Motown.
She was awarded $500, a dozen long stemmed red roses, a recording contract for one year and the honor of being the first female artist signed to Motown's subsidiary Soul label.
In 2006, she issued a DVD autobiography, Mountains, Motown & Motion Pictures, and in 2007 AJA released a CD, Frances Nero Salutes Dinah Washington.