Veteran Blues Divas Trudy and Francine are Both Back!

[daviddesper]

We older folks like to hold on as long as we can to the artists we have listened to for years, while also looking for new talent every chance we get. So with regard to the former, I can excitedly report that two of my favorites, Trudy Lynn and Francine Reed, have each blessed me with early Christmas presents!

Both these ladies date back to the 80s and 90s when some of the finest blues around came from the amazing Atlanta label Ichiban. Trudy especially released some awesome material which is fortunately still available today. Francine came a little later and therefore enjoyed a shorter stay due to the demise of the label.

Trudy is Houston-based and her 2014 release "Royal Oaks Blues Cafe" went all the way to number one on the blues charts. Notice I said 2014, so you can imagine how surprised I was a few weeks ago to see that a follow-up was already out. It is entitled "Everything Comes With a Price" and it just arrived in the mail today.

Then last night, I was surfing on Amazon and there [[for only $9.99 I might add) was a brand new one from Francine entitled "Wild Hearted Woman." Needless to say, I ordered it right away. For those of you who might not be familiar with her, she was a back-up singer to Lyle Lovett and probably still works with him, before striking out on her own. This is her first release in about 7 or 8 years so it will be most welcomed.

The only thing that would make my holidays even better would be for the long-awaited project[[s) from Denise LaSalle to finally come out. Heikki, that is where you come in, so what is the latest on our girl?

And at the risk of cramming too many topics into one post, what in the world ever happened to E. C. Scott? Does anyone know?

[daviddesper]

Enjoyed my first listen to Trudy today and it is quite good. The material she does these days does not have the raunch that her Ichiban stuff did, but the CD is still a rollicking good time. Best cut for me was "I Let My Daddy Do That," which is apparently an old blues classic as opposed to a new tune. I have heard someone else do it in a concert setting.

[heikki]

Hi David!

When it comes to ladies, you have a good taste. I also didn't know that Francine has a new record out.
I sent a message to Denise. I'll be calling her only when the new CD will be released. Normally she's not very prompt in answering, though :-).

Best regards
Heikki