One of best soul groups of the mid sixties, Billie Barnum, Leola Jiles, and Ella Jamerson, better known as the Apollas recorded some top notch material on the Loma label in a time when the Warner Record company was not well known for its soul sounds.
The gals debut on the label, "You're Absolutely Right," was a rough and tumble rock 'n' soul sounding song which established the trio as a strong presence in October 1965. Although the group didn't have any monster hits, they continued to pump out high quality material through 1968. After the brilliant girl pop piece "Pretty Red Balloons," the girls concentrated increasingly on Motown-styled soul and dance tunes.
"Lock Me In Your Heart," continued the gals minor commercial success, but "Mr. Creator," put the Apollas a head above the rest of their contemporaries. It’s driving beat and unforgettable island-style intro made it look to be their best effort to date. Strangely, it did not fair extremely well on the charts, and the group, who had made a recent switch from the Loma subsidiary to Warner proper, were not given much more attention. The girls, although never quite the stars they deserved to be attained a cult following, especially in Northern Soul circuits. All eight of their Warner/Loma singles are worth pursuing.