Living Blues #262 July/August 2019

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Trudy Lynn

Texas Treasure

By Rod Evans

Texas-native Trudy Lynn has been singing the blues for over 50 years now. Her career has seen a resurgence over the past six years with a new label and a worldwide touring schedule. 

Millie Jackson

I’ve Never Been Quiet in My Life

By Scott M. Bock

Millie Jackson has always had something to say and has never shied away from saying it. Explicit, outspoken, and bold, her songs have attacked racial issues, social issues, and prudish sexuality—and nothing is different today.

Annika Chambers

The Sass Is Back

By Roger Wood

Vocalist Annika Chambers has exploded onto the blues scene over the last five years. With three albums and a string of BMA nominations and awards, the Houston native is riding high on her newfound success.

Crystal Thomas

I’m the Person Singing at the Red Light Losing Her Mind

By Scott M. Bock

Louisiana-born Crystal Thomas is finally focusing her life on her musical career, and the response from the blues world has been immediate and positive. 

Mary Lane

Be Right By Peoples and Keep On Living

By David Whiteis

Eighty-four-year-old Mary Lane has been singing the blues in Chicago since the 1950s. The subject of a new documentary and on the heels of a new CD release, Lane is enjoying a late-career resurgence. 

Let It Roll: Memphis Minnie

By Jas Obrecht

On May 21, 1941, Memphis Minnie Douglas and her boyfriend, Ernest “Little Son Joe” Lawlars, arrived at the Wrigley Building at 400–410 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Over the next several hours the duo recorded eight sides that included some of Minnie’s most popular recordings.

Record Reviews

• New Releases: Mavis Staples, Bobby Rush,
  and Billy Branch
• Reissues: Big Jack Reynolds, Ivory Joe Hunter,
  and John “Schoolboy” Porter

Editorial

Blues News 

Artist to Artist: Shemekia Copeland

Breaking Out: Amythyst Kiah

Book Reviews

Obituaries

Radio Charts 

2019 Living Blues Awards Winners

Cover photo by Jeff Fasano
Trudy Lynn, Memphis, Tennessee, May 2019.