She had worked with the latin jazz percussionist, Mongo Santamaria, singing on an album of his which was released in the late 1980s.
Armsbury was born and raised in Washington State and Oregon and was of German, English, and Scottish ancestry.
She grew up listening to Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, James Brown, John Coltrane and Motown.
[5] An article by Jessica Lynne Valiente of the Graduate Center, City University of New York credits Armsbury with the compositions that she contributed, and the artistic persona in her performances for creating a Latin / R&B fusion that was more successful than anything that had ever been tried during the boogaloo era or following it.
[16] She co-composed the song "Do You Want My Love" which was a hit for Coco Lee in New Zealand and Australia in 1999 making the top 20 in both countries.
[22] In 2008, Armsbury came to the Southeast Missouri State University at the request of its musical director Judith Farris to speak to the students.
[25][26] In 2009, the Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Theatre and Dance and students dedicated their Sweet Charity musical production to Armsbury.