October 1937, Mississippi, USA. A member of a family whose musical activities can be traced back a number of generations (her grandfather Sid Hemphill
and aunt Rosa Lee Hill both made recordings), from the 50s onwards, Hemphill spent many years playing and singing. She sang blues, most of which she wrote herself, based on her own experiences, and played guitar in a local style, using droning chords and beating time on a tambourine with her foot. She also played drums in a fife and drum band, one of the last active examples of an old Mississippi tradition. She has made a number of recordings, including a couple of singles issued by a venture owned by Memphis State University, and has frequently played at concerts and festivals as far afield as Europe. In 1995 her career effectively ended when she had a stroke. Since then she has been confined to a wheelchair.

Harmony Ridge Music Review

Jessie Mae Hemphill is a rather obscure blues singer songwriter guitar player extrodinaire. She lives in Como Mississippi, the same town that Fred McDowell lived in. She must have been a good listener because she developed a lot of Fred's clear crisp solid blues licks.

Although she was not well know, she had a cult following and released one album in Europe. Recently, that album "She Wolf" and another "Feeling Good" were released in the US. These two CDs are some of the most good feeling infectuous music I've ever heard. She does her own version of "Mystery Train" and although I've probably heard 50 different people do this song, she blows them all away. She's haunting, sexy, and full of the raw energy only someone with the blues in their blood can be. If you like unpretensious basic blues done with honesty, feeling, and spirit, you'll like her stuff. I compare her with Fred McDowell, Sun House, and Robert Johnson, and on a more contemporary level, John Hammond and Rory Block.
---jack Sutton

For a superb write-up and more information on Jessie Mae Hemphill,
check out Retro Radio.


Feelin' Good( Retro Radio)
"Feelin' Good" is no misnomer. Recorded at the height of her career in the mid to late eighties, you can feel that she just can't wait to keep it rollin'. The first six tracks, from 1988, are the obvious results of playing to more and bigger crowds. She knows exactly what makes a crowd move and how to arrange a set. With the addition of Evans on guitar and R. L. Boyce on drums, Jessie Mae seems more commanding in her singing and her guitar even tighter. To hear her do "Streamline Train" live must have been one hell of a time.

The final eight tunes have the lady back workin' solo, and again the progress of her work is apparent. "My Daddy's Blues" is a beautiful tune describing Hemphill's musical heritage over a sweet little guitar riff and polyrythmic percussion that balances between West Africa and Native America. And again she closes out her record with a spiritual. "Lord Help The Poor And Needy" is just Jessie Mae and her tambourine, and I dare you to not be moved.
---Smitty Ray Barlow

Feeling Good
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1. Go Back To Your Used To Be
2. Streamline Train
3. Baby, Please Don't Go
4. Tell Me You Love Me
5. Shake It, Baby
6. Shame On You
7. My Daddy's Blues
8. Brokenhearted Blues
9. Rolling And Tumbling
10. Eagle Bird
11. Cowgirl Blues
12. Merry Christmas, Pretty Baby
13. Lord, Help The Poor And Needy

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1. She-Wolf
2. Standing In My Doorway Crying
3. Jump, Baby, Jump
4. Take Me Home with You, Baby
5. Black Cat Bone
6. Boogie 'Side the Road
7. Hard Times
8. Crawdad Hole
9. Married Man Blues
10. Honey Bee
11. Overseas Blues
12. Loving in the Moonlight
13. Bullyin' Well
14. Jessie's Boogie
15. My Lord Do Just What He Say

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Wait for Me
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1. Alone
2. Gonna Move
3. Wrapped In The Arms Of Another
4. 'Til I Found You
5. Wait For Me
6. Feeling Music Brings
7. In The Garden
8. Hampmotized
9. Don't Think Twice
10. I Fell In Love
11. Blues On A Holiday
    

Just Won't Burn
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1. Rock Me Right
2. You Need To Be With Me
3. Little By Little
4. It Hurt So Bad
5. Found Someone New
6. Looking For Answers
7. Can't Leave You Alone
8. Just Won't Burn
9. Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean
10. Angel From Montgomery
11. Friar's Point

1. It's Up To You
2. Gonna Write Him A Letter
3. Love Never Treats Me Right
4. It Hurts Me Too
5. Locomotive
6. You're On My Hair (Instrumental)
7. Better Days
8. Hound Dog
9. I Don't Want Nobody
10. Ain't Nobody's Business

For twenty years Sheila Wilcoxson has been singin' the blues in the Northwest. Her vocal talents and authenticity have earned her a most respected place among her notable peers. And for good reason. Backwater Blues is Wilcoxson's first solo effort but the credits read like a Who's Who of local talent: you might recognize Terry Robb's slide work, Curtis Salgado's harp or Janice Scroggin's stride piano. These tunes come straight from the Mississippi Delta and the picks showase her incredible voice: sly and steamy ("No Business"), traditional crooning ("Keep your Eyes Open"), gospel blues ("Revival Days"), plus lots of juicy growling. You'll hear alot of Bessie Smith in Wilcoxson, but don't be mistaken. She's got her own way and she's the real deal. Pick up Backwater Blues and spend your dog days kicking back on the front portch with a tall cool one.
- Anodyne 7/97

Sheila Wilcoxson has a truly amazing voice. That voice is the essence of this recording. The beauty and range of it is extraordinary as she makes her way through 12 traditionally styled Blues tunes. At times, Sheila has a haunting, Bessie Smith qualilty to her delivery; very arresting. She has surrounded herself with some of the finest local Blues musicians, including Terry Robb and Alan Hager on guitars, Albert Reda on bass, Bill Rhoades and Curtis Salgado on harp, just to name a few. These guys really know the traditional side of the Blues and their support is impeccable. Terry Robb produced this recording and he has put together a first-class effort with a vintage feel that really brings out the talent and excitement of Sheila's musical style. This recording should make people around the rest of the country "sit up and take notice" of Portland's best kept secret, Ms. Sheila Wilcoxson!
---Bluesnotes */97

Producer Terry Robb captures every shaded nuance and capricious whisper of Sheila Wilcoxson's eloquent vocal instrument, while providing her with an illustrious array of backup musicians including the likes of himself on various guitars, Fritz Richmond on washtub bass, Bill Rhodes and Curtis Salgado on harp, Skip Parente on violin and Janice Scroggins on piano. Sheila has been around Portland since the early '80s, eventually fronting her own bands, first Sheila and the Boogiemen and later the Back Porch Blues band. Those years spent plying her craft have rewarded Sheila for her persistence, as now she is availed of a richly supple voice, full of body and character. Her repertoire is comprised of original tunes written by herself, Back Porcher Whit Draper or guitarist Alan Hager -interspersed with renditions of tunes written by Huddie Ledbetter, Mance Lipscomb, Bessie Smith and Hoyt Axton. The styles cover several of the variations the blues has to offer, from the Delta feel of Draper's "No Business," and "Keep Your Eyes Open," to the hot swing of numbers like "Sweet Misery" and "Looky Looky Yonder," to the gospel testimony of "Revival Day," to the barrelhouse character of Bessie Smith's title track and the Country/Zydeco hoe-down of "Testosterone Poisoning." Sheila carves upon each form her own mark, creating a euphonious totem to the blues tradition.
---Two Louies

Backwater Blues
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1. No Business
2. Bad Sport Blues
3. Keep Your Eyes Open
4. Sweet Misery
5. Louie
6. Revival Day
7. Honey Let Me Lay It On You
8. Biscuit Roller
9. Backwater Blues
10. Testosterone Poisoning
11. Looky, Looky Yonder/Black Betty
12. John The Revelator

Diane Scanlon has toured extensively and internationally with some of New York's most respected and sought after players, appearing at such esteemed venues as the Montreux Festival in Switzerland, the Spoleto Festival in South Carolina, and the Nassau and New Haven Colosseums. Known for her emotive, blues based playing and soulful lyrics, she is a musician's musician. The poetic, urgent quality of her lyrics fuse with her powerful voice to unfailingly captivate the first- time audience.

Diane was born in White Plains, New York and played her first gig at 13. Her first musical experience was listening to Lena Home's album "Lena on the Blue Side". It was her love of Lena Horn, Ella Fitzgerald and the Beatles that led to her eclectic blues based style of writing. When Diane formed her own band and began touring the East Coast, her lead guitar playing became a trademark which led to the band's sizeable following. It was this exposure that led her to open for bands such as The Jefferson Starship and Jeff Beck at Nassau and New Haven Coliseum. She also toured Europe extensively, which culminated with her debut performance at the Montreux Festival.

Diane's first recording contract involved a collaboration with producer Jacques Morali for Can't Stop Productions. Her single "Romeo" was released on Polydor records in Europe, which led to touring in France.

As songwriter, Diane has collaborated with Eve Nelson, Jeff Bova, Phil Galston, Onaje Gumbs, Toy Askew, and Bette Sussman among many others. "Who's Gonna Carry You" was the single on Tramaine Hawkin's CD Higlzer Ground, a Grammy nominated record in the contemporary Gospel category. In the pop realm, Arista chose "I'll Be Here" as the hit single for the debut release by the band the Tuesdays. Her Grammy Award winning music composed for Penguin Audio Books also runs the gamut from mystery to mysticsm.

Most recently Diane has decided to use her wealth of experience as recording artist, band leader and songwriter, and formed her own production company geared toward producing material for up and coming bands. Her most recent projects are Antieone Risine's, Snapshot and Sarah Brooks debut recording.

Diane's first album "Devotion" was released in 1992 to critical acclaim. She is currently working on her second album "The Misunderstanding"

Billboard
"With her self-produced disc Diane Scanlon stakes her claim as a singer and writer on the scene to watch.

New York Newsday
"A spectacular talent... Her singing, guitar and lyrics all bite down hard...

Ron Delsener
...a true artist. It was my pleasure to present her."

Devotion
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1. Femine Fatale
2. Devotion
3. If He Dont...
4. Betrayed By A Kiss
5. Days Of Rain
6. Caught Inbetween
7. Restless Heart
8. Art Of Love
9. I Can't Love Like This No More
10. Walkin' By Your Side
11. Island Of Love
12. Long Way To Paradise

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1. What's Wrong With The Truth.mp3
2. It Will Come to You
3. Can't Talk To God
4. Me And Lorraine
5. Joanna Lee
6. River Of Doubt
7. Step Up.mp3
8. End Of The Line
9. When The Last Tree Falls
10. If It Works, Don't Fix It
11. Love Potion #9

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