Linda Lyndell was born in Gainesville, Florida, where she grew up singing gospel in both White and Black churches. She began to sing with R&B groups as a teen, most notably with The Rare Breed. In 1967, Atlanta DJ Dave Crawford introduced her music to producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Hayes and Porter [or Dave Crawford] recorded her first single, "Bring Your Love Back To Me", in 1967, but it didn't get much attention. In 1968 she recorded "What A Man"