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Women In
The Blues
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Just a few of the women who have made an impression in what it has to be said has been a predominantly male dominated industry. It is not an exhaustive list, by any means, but it does focus on performers from different eras and on a variety of styles.
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One of the greats of any era, Bessie Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 15/04/1894 - starting out as a street corner singer when orphaned in childhood, she began singing the blues under the guidance of Ma Rainey and by  1920 she was headlining her own touring show. Known as the Empress of the Blues, she was responsible for a range of now classic recordings throughout the 20s including 'Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out', 'St. Louis Blues', and 'Poor Man's Blues', often featuring stellar accompanists such as Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. The CBS Anthology reissues such as "Any Womans Blues (1923 - 30)" are well worth your attention, despite the fact that the music is now 70 years old.
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Moving onto the post war blues scene, Koko Taylor (born as Cora Walton on 28/09/1935 in Memphis Tennessee) is one of the few real women stars of the post war years. A powerful and hard driving singer with a rasping but soulful delivery, Koko first recorded in 1963 in Chicago and was responsible for the most famous version of Willie Dixon's  'Wang Dang Doodle', a song which suited her to a tee. She recorded throughout the 70s and 80s and won a Grammy award for blues album of the year in 1984. Her latest albums can be found on the Alligator label and include "Force Of Nature" (1993). There is also a compilation of her earlier work, if it's still around, covering the period 1965 - 69 and simply called "Koko Taylor".
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Ida Cox (born 25/02/1896 in Toccoa, Georgia) was a contemporary of Bessie Smith but was not really in the same league as a singer - what she lacked technically she made up for with the passion and sincerity of her  performance. She made her first recordings in 1923 and recorded throughout the decade. She made infrequent visits to the studio through the 30s and 40s and even recorded again as late as 1961, after suffering several years of illness including a stroke. The "Ida Cox Volumes 1 and 2 (1923-24)" compilations cover her early work.
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Often affectionately referred to as '200lbs of Joy' Katie Webster was born  Kathryn Thorne on 01/09/1939 in Houston, Texas. Originally a session pianist, she has appeared on record with the likes of Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester and Lightnin' Slim. As a vocalist she runs the range of pure blues, R&B;, soul and even pop ballads (she also toured with Otis Redding's band from 1966 until his death). Throughout the 70s she ended up primarily confined to the local club scene but in the early 80s she toured Europe and her career took an upturn.
She put out a series of fine albums for Alligator Records, all of which are worth hearing (and buying!) - try "No Foolin", "I Know That's Right" or "The Swamp Boogie Queen".
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Moving on another generation or two, we find blues performers of the quality of Rory Block (born 06/11/1949 in Greenwich Village, New York). Originally involved in the emerging New York folk scene, she quickly heard and fell in love with the blues, performing with  the Rev. Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt among others. 1975 saw the arrival of her debut recording and she has recorded regularly from 1981 onwards, producing albums such as "Blue Horizon" (1983) and "Turning Point" (1989). These albums showcase an ability with a predominantly country blues style as well as the quality of her own material. A variant on a cliche question ('can a white woman from New York sing the blues'?, asked as much by Rory herself as anyone else) is easily answered by the artistic success of these albums.
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Lou Ann Barton was born in Fort Worth, Texas on 17/02/1954 and spent her formative musical years in the Texas bar-room blues circuit.
 She actually spent some time with Double Trouble (along with Stevie Ray Vaughan) but soon quit as the two dominant personalities clashed, joining Roomful Of Blues before her first solo recording "Old Enough" was released in 1982 (co-produced by Jerry Wexler).
A great talent, but one never likely to be fulfilled, primarily because of her own unpredictability and a suspicion of unreliability.
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Toni Lynn Washington finds herself in this Primer section representing any number of high quality singers who have established a solid reputation and won critical acclaim in the blues field without ever really breaking through commercially. At the time of writing Toni Lynn records for the Tone-Cool label and is the stablished Queen Of The Blues in Boston, where she has a  long and fruitful history on the club scene
She was out of the studio and off the road for around 20 years before returning to performing in 1992. She released her Tone-Cool debut "Blues At Midnight" in 1995, gained widespread critical acclaim and received nominations at the WC Handy awards in both 1996 and 1997. A fine interpreter, she has also released the excellent "It's My Turn" (1997) and "Good Things" (2000)
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