LADY DAY. Lady - A woman of superior social position, a title of nobility and rank. Day - The period of light between dawn and nightfall.
Its 8 oclock on a frigid, winter night and backstage, a group of D.C. musicians roll through their warm-up moves. The drummers skins hum with the familiar rat-a-tat-tat of the D.C. back-beat; the bassist thumps a riff; and the background singers audaciously fold in three part harmonies. But the real action is in the wings - where the headliner, and featured vocalist of the show, peeks from behind the curtain, turns a shapely leg onto the stage, inhales and in three short breaths..turns the temperature to boiling,electrifying the atmosphere around her- bringing the audience to its feet..all that and shes just getting started!
Born and raised in Washington, D.C. as Sakinah Tate, Lady Day is a dynamic and versatile singer who has performed on two continents and sharpened her talent as a soloist with the internationally acclaimed award winning Eastern High School Choir including stints at the White House,once for REAGAN, and once for BILL CLINTON ALONG with the EASTERN SHC, and as back-up for Patti Labelle with the ESHSC for Xmas in WASHINGTON which on NBC, all before she was 17.
A songbird was being formed . Early on, growing up in a ghetto, just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, Lady Day was keenly aware of American bigotry, and her daily experiences made the injustices more obvious. Through the drug wars of the 1980s, she would plaster her wall with the funeral programs of childhood friends and neighbors -some slain within a short walk of her families front door. The losses of loved ones continued to cancer ( a younger brother one of a set of twins) and a longtime friend to AIDS. A songbird was being shaped. Lady Day rendered her sorrow in soulful gospel songs at funerals and wakes. She also became apart of many community based programs set up for gifted and talented inner-city youth,NEPAG,MBYLI,IYDO,ESHSC.
She starred in a number of Classic plays such as THE WIZ. Later, offering inspirational concerts in high schools, public and private schools, community groups and wherever she could find a mic and spotlight to vent the pain of all that she cold see going on around her 'A SILENT SCREAM'. She also honed her craft in nightclubs and cabarets throughout Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, and Florida.
A songbird was taking wings. One of 10 artistic and ambitious children of a local jazz player/label owner and his wife, Lady Day soaked in the vocal stylings, hopes and ambitions of her Dad and his groups during practices in the family basement. Upon finding her fathers old Billie Holiday albums, she listened for hours, day in and day out, and became entranced with Holidays spirit. A songbird was growing heart. She studied the life and works of Billie Holiday and her mission became clear. While Billie Holliday struggled to address the ills of her times with songs including Strange Fruit, but succumbed to such pressures, Lady Day would return as her spirit to fight the social ills of today, and resist the drug culture.
To help bring peace back to our streets. Spirit has called Lady Day. As the reincarnated.the spirit receives a second chance to honor Holidays commitment and historic role; this time around landing in the nations capital hardly a coincidence in the embodiment of Lady Day. But, this decades Strange Fruit isnt hanging from a tree; instead, are lives being hung by injustice, poverty, violence and drugs that have invaded our culture and threatens to annihilate the next generation.
A songbird takes flight. Teaming Universal Recs./ D.C. recording label Teddy Bear Records fronted by music veterans Ted Hopkins and Peter Dean, Lady Day is set to fly blazing trails for herself, and much like her spiritual mentor.crafting a path for others to follow."FINALLY! 'THE LADY' HAS ARRIVED.
Lady day is now touring parts of the country preparing for the release of her HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ALBUM, From BB KING'S HOUSE OF BLUES in LA. back to the NATIONS CAP. to grace the stage at the legendary BLUES ALLEY,LINCOLN THEATER,AND ZANZIBAR ON THE WATER,and just recently finished out the last week of the highly acclaimed play 'THE LIFE STORY OF MARVIN GAYE,starring KEITH WASHINGTON,T. BLOUNT,with other well known celebs. THE LADY played Patti in the play,it was awesome! In her debut CD, titled Lady Day, she renders a heartfelt plea for women to insist on the use of condoms to fight the spread of the AIDS epidemic; sings about the lure of materialism that tangles inner city youth in a web of crime and prison; and offers a tribute to the horrific numbers of young Black men killed by bullets and disease.
My first album cover shows just my eyes set in the Lotus flower, because it represents the unraveling of life mysteries and thats what I'm about - the eyes are the windows of the soul, she says. I want people to see that first. She adds, The Lotus flower is one of the most beautiful flowers in the world, but it only grows in the mud. Growing up in the ghetto I learned the most valuable lessons through the worst of circumstances. And, Ive come to renew the sense of hope for those who are strugglingoverlooked and in some ways forgottenIve returned to singto tell them that the most beautiful things in life can grow out of the worst times.A rose grows even in a concrete jungle,"When you find your purpose,you'll find your peace". THATS THE MESSAGE I HAVE TO GIVE! A songbird soars!
For Bookings Contact: Ted Hopkins (301) 412-3695 Ms. Chittams (301) 318-9854 Lady Day (202) 658-3800 By: Vern Goff Emerald City Communications (202) 488-1124 emeraldcitycomm@aol.com
