In the 1970s, Montgomery was a backing vocalist for acts such as Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, the Rolling Stones, and Joe Cocker.
After having her baby in 1961, Montogmery toured with blues musician Earl Hooker before she returned to Ike & Tina Turner.
[3] During her hiatus she sang with the group Benny Sharp & the New Breed who had another female vocalist named Jessie Smith.
[10] Montgomery and Smith along with Venetta Fields (a gospel singer from Buffalo) formed the first official incarnation of The Ikettes.
[11] In 1962, Montgomery released her first single,"Crazy In Love" / "Pee Wee" on Turner's Teena Records label.
[7] The Ike & Tina Turner Revue performed a grueling schedule of one-nighters on the Chitlin Circuit in the segregated south, and recorded constantly,[2] but Montgomery recalled those timed fondly.
[12] As an Ikette, Montogmery performed on the television shows American Bandstand, Hollywood A Go-Go, and Shindig!.
She provided backing vocals for variety of acts, including Barbra Streisand, Debbie Reynolds, Joe Cocker and Stevie Wonder.
[15] After Montgomery's lung collapsed, which prevented her singing, she moved back to St. Louis from California and became a dialysis technician.
[4] Welcome to Sweetie Pies, a reality show which focused on Montgomery running her soul food restaurants, premiered on OWN on October 15, 2011.
[20] In 2015, Montgomery was featured in the book The People's Place: Soul Food Restaurants and Reminiscences from the Civil Rights Era to Today.
Montgomery told author Dave Hoekstra that managing her own restaurant gave her new appreciation for her former boss Ike Turner.
[23] In the 1980s, Mayor Vincent Schoemehl appointed the St. Louis Kings of Rhythm, which included Montgomery, ambassadors for the City of St.
[18] In 2010, George Lombardi, the director of the Missouri Department of Corrections, presented Montgomery with a plaque honoring her for her willingness to help ex-offenders.
[27] On August 18, 2020, Norman was arrested in Mississippi and charged for his alleged role in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of Andre Jr. in 2016.
[28][29] It was reported that Norman, who is facing federal charges and was proven to be the sole beneficiary to an insurance policy on Andre,[29][28] recruited a Memphis exotic dancer named Terica Ellis,[30] and others to assist in the murder plot.
[29][28] Ellis and two other co-conspirators, Travell Anthony Hill and Waiel Rebhi Yaghnam, later pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder.