Shirley King is Back!
Joining
Chicago's Deep City Band
and
Kenny Patton
singing Pop and Motown
Shirley's Bio:
Shirley King... is a blues original. Being the blues singing daughter of B.B. King has earned Shirley King the title “Daughter of the Blues,” but she is an outstanding singer and performer in her own right.
Her father's career exposed her to the company of great singers. Born and raised in Memphis, Shirley began singing in the church choir at age nine. When she was 13 she met another music legend – Etta James. Young Shirley was so impressed by Etta's performance that she made Etta her musical role model. Ruth Brown and the late Mahalia Jackson also greatly influenced the fledgling singer.
She says, "I grew up around the stage watching my dad become famous, but I never imagined I'd become a blues singer too."
Ms. King came late to the blues, first trying it on in 1990. Within six months, she was a regular performer at the Kingston Mines. Two years later she saw the release of her first CD, "Jump Through My Keyhole" on the Japanese GBW label. Once her father caught her act he lent his full support to Shirley's efforts at carrying on the blues tradition. She admits that having a legendary father helped her get through doors, but it was her talent, charisma and high-energy stage presence that got her invited back. From traditional blues to gospel to funky R&B to smooth soul, Shirley defies genre and her singing and stage antics will fire you up!
Shirley has sung at major blues clubs and festivals worldwide. She toured the U.S., Canada, Italy, France and Iceland as “The Daughter of the Blues.” She has performed with B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Albert King, Little Milton, Tyrone Davis, Otis Clay, Jerry Butler, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Eddie Clearwater, Billy Branch and many others.
“I try my best to give the customers what they want,” she said. “I work hard to give the audience, and the people at the club, what they came to see: a show that helps them get up and get moving. My shows motivate people to get up and have fun.
I want to give people a pretty good reason to go out and see a live blues show, instead of just sitting back at home playing a record. If I don’t do that as a performing artist, it’s the same experience for the audience when they are sitting at home playing a record, and I want people to come out and put their workday aside and have some fun. If I don’t know a specific request for a song, I will work on it and make sure we please the customer. We’ll just make it up sometimes, but we’ll have some fun doing it.”
