Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball | |
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Background information | |
Born | Orange, Texas, U.S. | March 20, 1949
Origin | Vinton, Louisiana, U.S. |
Genres |
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Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1970–present |
Website | www |
Marcia Ball (born March 20, 1949)[1] is an American blues singer and pianist raised in Vinton, Louisiana.[1]
Ball was described in
Career
Ball was born in Orange, Texas, into a musical family. Her grandmother and aunt both played piano music of their time and Ball started piano lessons when she started school,[4] and showed an early interest in New Orleans style piano playing, as exemplified by Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, and James Booker. She has named Irma Thomas, the New Orleans vocalist, as her chief vocal inspiration. Ball studied English at Louisiana State University in the 1960s while playing in a band called Gum.[1] In 1970, at age 21, she started a progressive country band called Freda and the Firedogs in Austin, Texas, and began her solo career in 1974.[5]
Ball's piano style includes elements of
She was awarded "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" for her albums
Ball has continued to work with Irma Thomas. In 2006, the two contributed a duet ("Look Up") on the New Orleans Social Club release, Sing Me Back Home (Burgundy Records/Honey Darling Records). In 2007, the two contributed another duet ("I Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind") to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard Records). She continues to play at nightclubs, particularly in Austin and New Orleans, and performs at music festivals in North America and overseas.[1]
In May 2015, Ball won the 'Pinetop Perkins Piano Player' award at the Blues Music Awards ceremony.[9] She won the same award in 2019.[10]
On October 25, 2018, Ball was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, where she first appeared during their inaugural season in 1976.[11]
Discography
Solo or principal artist
- 1972: Freda and the Firedogs
- 1978: Circuit Queen (Capitol)
- 1984: Soulful Dress (Rounder)
- 1985: Hot Tamale Baby (Rounder)
- 1989: Gatorhythms (Rounder)
- 1990: Dreams Come True (Antone's) (with Lou Ann Barton and Angela Strehli)
- 1994: Blue House (Rounder)
- 1997: Let Me Play With Your Poodle(Rounder)
- 1998: Sing It! (Rounder) (with Tracy Nelson and Irma Thomas)
- 2001: Presumed Innocent (Alligator Records)
- 2003: So Many Rivers (Alligator)
- 2004: Live at Waterloo Records (Alligator)
- 2005: Live! Down The Road (Alligator)
- 2007: JazzFest Live (MunckMusic\Munck)
- 2008: Peace, Love & BBQ (Alligator)
- 2011: Roadside Attractions (Alligator)
- 2014: The Tattooed Lady & The Alligator Man (Alligator)
- 2018: Shine Bright (Alligator)
Other contributions
- 2000 Don Wise: In the verge of survival, with Delbert McClinton
- 2003: Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker (STR Digital Records)
- 2006: Sing Me Back Home New Orleans Social Club (Burgundy Records/Honey Darling Records) Duet with Irma Thomas, "Look Up".
- 2007: Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino (Vanguard Records) Duet with Irma Thomas, "I Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind".
- 2009: Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women (Yep Roc Records) With Dave Alvin. Member of "The Guilty Women" band.
Filmography
- 2003: The Blues, episode Piano Blues directed by Clint Eastwood
- 2006: New Orleans Music in Exile
Festival appearances
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (September 2019) |
- San Francisco Blues Festival – 1984
- Austin Aqua Fest– 1986
- Long Beach Blues Festival – 1996
- Rhythm And Roots Festival (Charlestown, Rhode Island) – 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017
- Thursday at the Square – 2002
- Monterey Jazz Festival – 2002
- Austin City Limits Music Festival – 2004
- National Folk Festival (USA)– 2005
- Waterfront Blues Festival (Portland, Oregon) – 2007
- New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival– 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2018
- Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival(Helena, Arkansas) – 2010
- Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival (New Orleans, Louisiana) – 2011
- Chicago Blues Festival – 2013
- Edmonton Blues Festival - 2018
See also
- List of blues musicians
- List of boogie woogie musicians
- List of Louisiana blues musicians
- List of Swamp blues musicians
- List of people from Texas
- List of Austinites
- Music of Austin
References
- ^ a b c d "Marcia Ball - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ Gundersen, Edna. USA Today, February 5, 2006.
- ^ Gilbert, Andrew (February 19, 2006), "A Gulf Coast treasure breaks out", Boston Globe, retrieved October 26, 2009
- ^ from and interview with Marcia Ball on episode 208 of the Americana Music Show, published September 11, 2014
- ^ ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ Biography Archived May 22, 2007, at archive.today, Blues.about.com; accessed March 19, 2015.
- ^ Biodata Archived February 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, rosebudus.com; accessed March 19, 2015.
- ^ "Meet your ACL Hall of Fame inductees for 2018: Ray Charles, Los Lobos, Marcia Ball". Music.blog.austin360.com. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ "2015 Blues Music Awards Winners". Americanbluesscene.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ "2019 Blues Music Awards Winners Announced". Antimusic.com. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
- ^ "Austin City Limits Hall of Fame". Acltv.com. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
External links
- Official Marcia Ball website
- Marcia Ball at IMDb
- Marcia Ball at Facebook
- Fan site
- Le Show interview: Shearer, Harry (May 8, 2005). "le Show". HarryShearer.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.