High energy, get down, get funky, jump up and jiggle your business Chicago blues... I give this group my highest recommendation."
–Maryam Ahmad, Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
"The Blues Legend Raised A Musical Gem."
–Prevue Magazine
"She blew my mind, she was like Etta James, Koko Taylor and B.B. King all rolled into one."
–Charles Hayden, Vue Weekly
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Article published Thursday, July 17, 2008
Shirley King headlines Toledo Blues Festival
3-day event begins tomorrow at Festival Park downtown
Shirley King, daughter of blues great B.B. King, will sing at the Toledo Blues Festival Saturday.
( ASSOCIATED PRESS )
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By DAVID YONKE
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Shirley King doesn’t just sing the blues. She moves to the music like a tiger chasing down a gazelle.
“People typically stand on stage doing their thing and here I come, shaking and showing it to them,” she said. “I shake a mean hip. I believe in putting everything I can into it.”
The daughter of blues legend B.B. King, Shirley King will headline Saturday’s lineup at the Toledo Blues Festival, which will be held tomorrow through Sunday in Festival Park along the Maumee River.
King, 58, of Chicago, has been singing the blues for the last 12 years and before that made a living for two decades as a dancer.
“I didn’t work bars, nothing like that, only shows,” she said in an interview this week. “I danced at African-American social clubs. It’s the black people’s way of having their own party. They don’t just have a band but they have singers and dancers, too, just like in the 1940s and ’50s.”
Gene Parker will perform at the festival Saturday.
( THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON )
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The energetic, entertaining King said that she was wearing herself out after 21 years as a dancer and was ready for a change.
“I had outgrown that and I knew I couldn’t go to the places as a dancer that I could as a singer,” she said.
When she looked into the possibility of becoming a singer, the blues weren’t exactly her first choice, she said.
“Not that I don’t like the blues, but a lot of African-American people don’t want to sing the blues because they feel they live the blues, so we don’t want to sing them too,” she said.
King grew up singing in church, she said, and loves gospel music. Among her musical heroes is gospel legend Mahalia Jackson.
“Oh yes, oh yes, Mahalia was an inspiration when I was growing up and exposed to a lot of gospel music,” King said. “But I had the Tina Turner problem: I would be moving so much the preacher would have to calm me down, this being the church. But I was just feeling the music. I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful. I didn’t realize my moving got such attention. Some of us got that problem.”
She decided to sing the blues after ruling out other options.
“I can’t do country and I can’t do rock. Living in Chicago, you can’t make a living singing gospel. There’s no market for R&B. I’m not a jazz singer. So you do the blues or you go nowhere,” she said.
King said that when her father saw her in concert, he was taken by her energy and showmanship. “He said, ‘My, my, honey, you are a heck of an entertainer,’” King recalled. “And that’s what the media says every time I’m reviewed. I tell people, ‘If you didn’t come to have a good time, you’re probably in the wrong place.’”
King is scheduled to perform from 9 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Toledo Blues Fest in Festival Park, next to the former COSI building downtown
Shirley King "High energy, get down, get funky, jump up and jiggle your business Chicago blues."
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.
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Ciao,Shirley Thank you for the add and the friendship. you are very good, I like your stupendous music a lot, Band, and stupendous voice. compliments ..really. you are one of my prefeitis, I feel great admiration for you, be really one whom is worth rather a lot! I hope to listen soon to you, in italy .. talk to you soon, and all of my best wishes to always listen to your good music all the best.. from italy.. and good life.. every day neal
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