Damita Jo Deblanc Wood was born in Austin, Texas on August 5, 1930. She attended both the L. L. Campbell and Blackshear Schools in Austin. Her parents, Latrelle and Herbert, said that she was born singing. Wood attended Sam Houston College in Austin and the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Her recognition as a vocalist began with her distribution of the only English language recording on the Mexican record label, Taxco. She began a long career as a jazz, pop, soul singer in international supper clubs, television and recording. She has recorded on many labels including Discovery, RCA Victor, Mercury, Epic, Melic, and her own label called Black Masters.
Her records have topped the charts in North America, Sweden, Norway, Australia, Puerto Rico and Japan. On May 9, 1967, she was honored by the Mayor and City Council in Austin, Texas with “Damita Jo Day” and a street named in her honor. Wood eventually relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. She composed and recorded a song, The Color of Your Skin Makes No Difference, which has been used as a part of a program in the public school system in Baltimore. She passed away on December 25, 1998.