just rec'd this email today -

I'm excited to announce the release of ... can you believe it... MY 40TH ALBUM!!!

This year's release is a loving tribute to the late, great Memphis Minnie titled ...First Came Memphis Minnie, & features guest performances by my Soul Sisters Bonnie Raitt, Phoebe Snow, Koko Taylor, Rory Block, and Ruthie Foster, as well as the amazing guitar work of Del Rey, Roy Rogers, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Bob Margolin, David Bromberg, and others.

Creating this CD was a true labor of love for me, as I consider Memphis Minnie to be not only a trailblazing musical pioneer for all women, but my personal Blues hero as well! ~ Way back in the day, in 1963, when I was ‘In My Girlish Days,’ I had the amazing good fortune and privilege of meeting one of the original ‘classic’ Blues Queens, Victoria Spivey, when she was in her late 70s, living in New York City and running her own record label, Spivey Records. She took me to her apartment and played old 78s, looking for songs that would be suitable for my young voice. Of all the tunes she played for me, the one that made the deepest impression was an old scratchy 78 of a haunting, soulful tune called ‘Tricks Ain’t Walkin’’ by Memphis Minnie. I was deeply moved by the song and immediately added it to my repertoire. From that moment to this, Memphis Minnie, and the example she set for me, have remained a profound influence on my life and my music. She has also influenced many other blues artists. That is why I wanted to collaborate with my Sisters in Music to pay tribute to the woman that inspired us and paved the way for us all!

~FYI: a little bit about Memphis Minnie~
Memphis Minnie not only sang the Blues, she wrote & recorded over 200 of her own songs & played absolutely bitchin' guitar, accompanying herself with a raw rhythmic guitar sound that came to be known as ‘Country Blues'. She recorded for over 40 years and was one of the first blues artists (male or female) to take up the electric guitar in 1942. Her unique Country Blues sound evolved into electric urban Blues, blazing the trail for Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and countless others that followed. She was tough, determined, talented, and courageous enough to defy and overcome all the racial, social, economic, and gender barriers that existed in her time, forging the life she envisioned for herself on nothing but her own terms!

We are celebrating the release of ...First Came Memphis Minnie with an extensive tour of the US & Canada, swinging through the Northwest, British Columbia, the Midwest, New England, the Mid & South Atlantic states, Florida, Louisiana, & Texas, including shows in a number of markets we haven’t visited in some time! I’ll be accompanied by my Red Hot Bluesiana Band, and we'll be performing songs not only from the new CD, but also from my critically-acclaimed and Blues Award-nominated last release, Steady Love, which reached # 1 on the Living Blues Charts & featured high energy, high spirited Blues, R&B & "Swamp Funk"!

So whether you like Old Blues and/or New Blues, there'll be lots of Soulful Music for you to enjoy at this show!