A heated discussion on 'Race, Gender & the Blues'

[Valerie Johnson]

Hello Ton,
My name is Valerie Johnson and I am a Blues singer, singing mainly
traditional to modern blues and also Traditional New Orleans Jazz,
Gospel, R&B & Americana.  I was truly blessed to have sang with a The
Bitburg Gospel Messengers, a traditional Gospel Choir.  I was the only
white person.  Let me tell you, I learned a lot about singing and
different ways to use a voice.   I would love for you to take a listen
to my singing as a blues singer and give me your honest opinion.

Al B Blue and I and sometimes Texas Blueswoman Karen Tyler
<http://www.karentyler.com> have also been teaching kids all across the
country, from 2 to 92, about the Blues for over 15 years through our
program Blues for Kids <http://vjblues.com/blues_for_kids>.  We serve up
the history of the Blues and provide all kinds of traditional 'Blues'
instruments so we can get the kids playing, singing, Yes, actually
experiencing blues music!

Here are some audio links and more:
Singing with Al B Blue  on our CD "What Kind of Blue Is This?"    Blues
songs are 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/valeriejohnson
  and various groups doing Blues, Traditional New Orleans Jazz, and
other musical styles. http://vjblues.com <http://vjblues.com/>      Go
down the right column to the audio player.

As lead singer of The Strata-Tones on our Debut CD "Dressed Up To Fess
Up" http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thestratatones

Thank you for your time.  Thanks for Keeping the Blues Alive!

Valerie Johnson


On 5/22/2012 3:12 AM, Ton Wanten wrote:
> IMHO Harri is right.
> As a radio "producer", I receive lot's and lot's of music every week.
> Intro's often impress me a lot, great guitar playing or harp playing,
> after the vocals kick inS(. Well, I miss something..
>
> Ton
> Triple R Blues Radio
> The Netherlands
>
> On dinsdag22-05-12 01:48, "Harri Haka"<harri.haka@GMAIL.COM>  wrote:
>
>> As a small time European promoter I must say it goes the other way over
>> here. Venues would prefer black musicians but not that many are
>> available. Seems that a lot of gifted young black musicians shy away
> >from the blues and go for hip-hop or rap. On the other hand, many white
>> musicians are obsessed with the blues and practice it day in day out.
>> Luckily, however, we still have rising stars like Omar Coleman and
>> Marquise Knox (to mention a few) who have huge talent. A white musician
>> can learn to play technically flawless blues. But when it comes to
>> vocals, hardly any of them can capture the feeling, guts and credibility
>> of their black colleagues. And in the end, singing is the essence of the
>> blues.
>> Harri from Finland
>>
>>   22.5.2012 0:50, mannish kirjoitti:
>>> a lot of people shay away from the discussion but I like it as long it
>>> does NOT get heated - passionate but no heat
>>> L
>>>
>>> On 5/21/2012 12:06 PM, Jimmy Jacobs wrote:
>>>> http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-0521-blues-conf
>>>> eren
>>>>
>>>> ce-20120521,0,2623646.column
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It's an old argument but still relevant.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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