Lou Ann Barton | |
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Background information | |
Born | Fort Worth, Texas, United States | February 17, 1954
Genres | Blues, Jump blues |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer |
Instrument | Vocalist |
Years active | 1970–present |
Labels | Asylum Records, Spindletop Records, Antone's Records |
Lou Ann Barton (born February 17, 1954) is an American blues singer based in Austin, Texas since the 1970s. [1] AllMusic noted that "The grace, poise, and confidence she projects on-stage is part of a long tradition for women blues singers". [1]
In late September 1977 Barton joined a new Austin blues group, Triple Threat Revue, with Stevie Ray Vaughan and W. C. Clark. [2] It was renamed Double Trouble when Clark left in May 1978, and Barton continued with Double Trouble until November 1979. [3] In the early 1980s, she did a stint with the jump blues band Roomful of Blues. [2] It was there that she was spotted by the record producer Jerry Wexler.
She recorded the album Old Enough for Asylum Records in 1982, a well-received recording that was co-produced by Jerry Wexler and Glenn Frey. [2] Despite positive reviews, Old Enough did not sell well, and her tenure with Asylum Records was a short one. [2] Barton's Forbidden Tones, a pop-oriented EP slated as her Asylum follow-up, was released by Spindletop Records in 1986. It also failed to find a wide audience. [2]
Her next release was the 1989 album Read My Lips for the Austin-based Antone's Records, [2] a return to her blues roots that featured versions of songs made famous by Slim Harpo, Hank Ballard and Wanda Jackson, among others. Barton later collaborated with singers Marcia Ball and Angela Strehli on the release Dreams Come True (1990). [4]
In 1989, Barton made an appearance on Austin City Limits with the W. C. Clark Blues Revue. The show was taped in celebration of Clark's 50th birthday. Other artists included Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, and Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds. [5]
In 2001, she again appeared on Austin City Limits, as a guest of Double Trouble. [6] In 2006, she was a featured act at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.[ citation needed ] As of 2010, she was touring with Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt-a-Whirl Band.[ citation needed ] Through 2018 Barton continued to perform in Austin, and elsewhere, sometimes "[b]acked by Derek O'Brien, Denny Freeman, Scott Nelson, & Jay Moeller", sometimes with Sue Foley. [7] [8]
Stephen Ray Vaughan was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the history of blues music, and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He was the younger brother of guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.
Austin City Limits is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to receive the National Medal of Arts, which it was awarded in 2003. It also won a rare institutional Peabody Award in 2011 "for its more than three decades of presenting and preserving eclectic American musical genres". Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS under the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. The show was created in 1974 by Bill Arhos, Bruce Scafe, and Paul Bosner.
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Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan Jr. is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was a founding member of the The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Double Trouble is an American blues rock band from Austin, Texas, which served as the backing band for singer-guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. The group was active throughout the 1980s and contributed to reviving blues music, inspiring many later blues and rock acts. Formed in Austin, Texas in 1978, the group went through several early line-up changes before settling on a power trio consisting of Vaughan, Chris Layton (drums), Tommy Shannon (bass). They became a four-piece by 1985 after adding Reese Wynans (keyboards). Whilst with Vaughan they were billed Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Rooted in blues and rock music, the group worked in various genres ranging from ballads to soul, often incorporating jazz and other musical elements.
"Texas Flood" is a blues song recorded by Larry Davis in 1958. Considered a blues standard, it has been recorded by several artists, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, who made it part of his repertoire.
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Clifford Antone was the founder of the eponymous Austin blues club Antone's and independent record label Antone's Records and Tapes, as well as a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson, Gary Clark, Jr. and numerous other musicians. He is the nephew of Jalal Antone, the founder of the Houston-based Antone's Import Co - known for its po-boy sandwiches.
Charles Wayne Sexton is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Sexton is best known for his years as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band, though also has become well known as a music producer. Sexton co-founded Arc Angels and created the Charlie Sexton Sextet. He was still a teenager when he gained fame for his 1985 hit, "Beat's So Lonely", from his debut album, Pictures for Pleasure.
Wesley Curley Clark was an American blues musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s.
Doyle Bramhall Sr. was an American blues singer, guitarist and drummer with deep roots in the Austin, Texas music scene.
Keith Ferguson was an American bass guitarist, best remembered as a member of the blues rock band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, based in Austin, Texas. Ferguson received several awards for his musicianship.
Angela Strehli is an American electric blues singer and songwriter. She is also a Texas blues historian and impresario. Despite a sporadic recording career, Strehli spends time each year performing in Europe, the US and Canada.
Dennis Edward Freeman was an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman also played piano and electronic organ, both in concert and on various recordings. He worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Angela Strehli, Lou Ann Barton, James Cotton, Taj Mahal, Barry Goldberg and Percy Sledge amongst others.
Mark "Kaz" Kazanoff is an American jazz and blues saxophonist, arranger, and record producer living in Austin, Texas.
Antone's was a record label based in Austin, Texas.
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Old Enough is an album by the American musician Lou Ann Barton, released in 1982. It was a commercial disappointment that resulted in personal and music business problems for Barton. The album was reissued in 1993 and in 2007.