'People Were Shocked I Was Black': 'Doctor's Orders' by Carol Douglas

‘100 Greatest Soul Songs’ Book Excerpt

Frank Mastropolo

Hot Productions

British singer Sunny Leslie was the first to record “Doctor’s Orders.” Leslie had recently split from the vocal duo Sue and Sunny and kept her one-word name as a solo artist. The song became a UK hit despite BBC Radio’s reluctance to spin a record about a woman’s medical condition. 

“Doctor’s Orders” was recorded on Midland International Records in the US by disco diva Carol Douglas and became a №9 hit on the Hot Soul Singles chart in 1975.

“I really would have wanted a more soulful song,” Douglas explained in First Ladies of Disco. “I felt the minute I heard the music that it was going to be something and after hearing my voice on the track it was even more amazing. It did throw me off when they played me the Sunny version. So I had to approach singing the song in my own way.”

“When I first auditioned for ‘Doctor’s Orders’ they told me I sounded great, but too black,” Douglas revealed on EurWeb. “My producers wanted to capture my more melodic pop/commercial tones which undeniably made me sound white on the radio.

“People were always shocked to know I was black. I actually ended up with a very big Caucasian international and national fan base. However, whenever I went to promote my records at the radio stations, they were always surprised to find out I was black.

“This used to give me an inferiority complex. For a while, I really went through a racial thing and felt very sad and lost. I always wanted to do a funky black album but the label wouldn’t allow it. This is how I lost out on R&B/Disco hits like ‘Shame,’ ‘Caught Up in a One Night Love Affair,’ and ‘I Specialize in Love.’”

Frank Mastropolo is the author of 100 Greatest Soul Songs, part of the Greatest Performances series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.