Rochelle Fleming-Finney, First Choice Co-Founder and Disco Singer, Dies at 72
Rochelle Fleming-Finney, co-founder and lead vocalist of the Philadelphia disco soul group First Choice, died November 5, 2026, at 72. Her family announced the news on Instagram. The group's hits included "Armed and Extremely Dangerous" and "Doctor Love."
Disco singer Rochelle Fleming-Finney, co-founder and lead vocalist of the Philadelphia group First Choice, died on November 5, 2026, in Philadelphia at age 72. Her Instagram page announced the news over the weekend.
The post began: "It is with a heavy heart to share the passing of, Rochelle Fleming-Finney." It called her the founder of the R&B group First Choice.
It went on to say she brought "light, laughter and love" to the world. Services to celebrate her life will be announced at a later date, the message said.
From high school to the charts
Fleming was born in Philadelphia on February 11, 1954. She formed her first vocal group in high school, the Debonettes, with fellow singers Annette Guest and Wardell Piper.
The trio later renamed themselves First Choice while still students at Overbrook High School. They scored their first hit in 1973 with "Armed and Extremely Dangerous." The early-disco track reached No. 11 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It carried the hallmarks of the genre about to explode: syncopated bass, yearning vocals, strings and a beat made for dancing.
Lineup changes and later hits
Piper appeared on the debut album but left shortly before its release. Joyce Jones replaced her on the record, which also included "Smarty Pants," a No. 56 hit on the Hot 100. The album peaked at No. 184 on the Billboard 200.
With Jones in the lineup, the group landed its first firm chart hit, "The Player — Part 1," which reached No. 41 on the Hot 100. After Jones left and two albums on Philly Groove, the group moved to Warner Bros. Records.
Its third album, So Let Us Entertain You, came out in 1976. It featured disco chart staples "First Choice Theme/Ain't He Bad" and "Are You Ready For Me?" Other mid-to-late 1970s hits included "Doctor Love," which reached No. 41 on the Hot 100, as well as "Guilty" and "Let No Man Put Asunder."
"Let No Man Put Asunder" has been sampled by UGK, Liquid Crystal, Special Ed, 2Pac, House of Pain and Nitzer Ebb, among others. Mary J. Blige covered it on her 1999 album Mary.
A lasting sample
The group's influence reached into the current century. In 2019, J. Cole sampled "Wake Up to Me" on "Middle Child." Kaytranada sampled "Love Thang" on his 2019 single "10%," which won the Grammy Award for best dance recording in 2021.
First Choice released its sixth and final album, Breakaway, in 1980 and split that year. Fleming kept performing as a solo act.
Her solo singles included "Love Itch" (1985), "Danger!" (1994), which hit No. 42 on the Dance Club Songs chart, and "Suffer (The Consequences)" (1995), which peaked at No. 35 on the same chart.
She reunited with the group in 1987 with two different singers. In 2014 she joined Guest, Ursula Herring and Piper for a one-off performance at a Salsoul Records celebration.
