- Tracy Nelson (singer)
Tracy Nelson (
December 27 ,1947 ) is an American singer.Youth in Wisconsin
Nelson was born and grew up in
Madison, Wisconsin . There she first learned aboutR&B music from WLAC radio in Nashville, a clear-channel AM station whose powerful signal permeated the central South andMidwest .In her teens, Nelson sang folk music in coffeehouses and R&B at fraternity parties in Madison. She was lead singer in a band called The Fabulous Imitations.
Early recording career
In 1964, Nelson recorded an album released on Prestige Records. It featured blues harmonica player
Charlie Musselwhite among her backup band. In Chicago, where the album was recorded, Nelson met and learned from artists such asMuddy Waters ,Howlin' Wolf , andOtis Spann .Nelson moved to San Francisco, where she became part of the 1960s music scene there. Her band Mother Earth played the legendary Fillmore Auditorium, sharing bills with the
Grateful Dead ,Jefferson Airplane ,Janis Joplin andJimi Hendrix . It was during this period that Nelson wrote and recorded (with Mother Earth on the album "Living with the Animals") her signature song "Down So Low," later covered byLinda Ronstadt andEtta James .Later career
Before the 1960s were out, Nelson had relocated to Nashville, where she and Mother Earth recorded the well-received albums "Make A Joyful Noise" and the solo effort "Tracy Nelson Country". The latter features Nelson's cover of the country classic "Blue, Blue Day."
Nelson made a total of six albums with Mother Earth for the Mercury, Reprise, and Columbia labels. She has continued to record as a solo artist, for Atlantic and other labels. In 1974, her duet with
Willie Nelson (no relation), "After the Fire is Gone" was nominated for aGrammy Award .After a lengthy hiatus from recording in the 1980s, Tracy Nelson returned to the public eye in the 1990s, releasing a number of critically well received albums on the independent
Rounder Records label. Her 1998 collaboration with label-matesMarcia Ball andIrma Thomas "Sing It" garnered a second Grammy nomination. During this comeback period she performed on American music television programs such asSunday Night and Austin City Limits.Since the early 2000s, Nelson has recorded for various
independent record label s. A consummate live performer, she released her first in concert album "Live From Cell Block D" in 2004. Her most recent projects include a collaboration with blues-rock veteransNick Gravenites ,Harvey Mandel , Corky Siegel andSam Lay . Billed as the Chicago Blues Reunion, the group toured major cities in 2005 and 2006.In 2007, Tracy released "You'll Never Be a Stranger at My Door", her first pure country effort since her 1969 landmark album, "Mother Earth Presents Tracy Nelson Country". "Stranger" included her covers of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone", Jim Reeves' "Four Walls"; the Everly Brothers' "I Wonder If I Care as Much" and a song based on a poem of her own composition, "Salt of the Earth", a tribute to the "Strong mind, simple creed" of her Tennessee country neighbors.
External links
* [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/artist/glance/-/35059 Amazon]
* [http://www.tracynelson.com/TracyNelson/index.htm Tracy Nelson homepage]
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