As tributes continue for First Choice lead singer Rochelle Fleming, who died at 72, her signature song is drawing fresh attention for its title: "Let No Man Put Asunder" comes straight from Scripture.
The phrase echoes Matthew 19:6, where Jesus says, "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Mark 10:9 repeats it, and the words are heard at many weddings.
First Choice released the song in 1977 on the album Delusions. Though the title comes from a verse about marriage, the lyric is about a woman who cannot believe her husband is leaving.
The song found its biggest audience in 1983, when DJs Shep Pettibone and Frankie Knuckles remixed it. Knuckles' Chicago club sets helped make it a house-music favorite, and the group's artist biography says more than 200 artists have sampled it, including Moby, Hot Chip and Ice Cube.
Fleming died Nov. 5 in Philadelphia. Her family's announcement said she brought "light, laughter and love" to the world and that services will be announced later. Sister Sledge, also from Philadelphia, said, "May she rest in heavenly peace." No cause of death has been disclosed.
Her church, Christian Hope Baptist Church, wrote, "We knew her first as one of our own."
For many listeners, a song built on a verse about lasting faithfulness remains Fleming's most enduring sound.
Related: Rochelle Fleming Dies at 72: First Choice Disco Star Who "Came Home" to Sing at Church
