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Put your hands on the remote! browse music »Big Boss Lady by Johnnie Mae Dunson
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fave it Blues Vocals | Chicago Style
13 tracks | 68 minutes
Released Feb 2003
on Lakada, Music Co.
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:47 I'm Going Upside Your Head lyrics BUY MP3 04:47 I'm Going Upside Your Head lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:47 I'm Going Upside Your Head
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:10 So, Cold (Part 1) lyrics BUY MP3 05:10 So, Cold (Part 1) lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:10 So, Cold (Part 1)
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:55 I'm a She Wolf lyrics BUY MP3 04:55 I'm a She Wolf lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:55 I'm a She Wolf
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:26 Gamblin' Woman lyrics BUY MP3 06:26 Gamblin' Woman lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:26 Gamblin' Woman
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:51 My Baby's Gone lyrics BUY MP3 05:51 My Baby's Gone lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:51 My Baby's Gone
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:04 Big Boss Lady lyrics BUY MP3 05:04 Big Boss Lady lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:04 Big Boss Lady
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:35 I'm a Whole Lotta Woman lyrics BUY MP3 04:35 I'm a Whole Lotta Woman lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:35 I'm a Whole Lotta Woman
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:39 Trouble Just Won't Let Me Be lyrics BUY MP3 05:39 Trouble Just Won't Let Me Be lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:39 Trouble Just Won't Let Me Be
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:09 Evil lyrics BUY MP3 06:09 Evil lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:09 Evil
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:02 Blue Sky is My Blanket lyrics BUY MP3 06:02 Blue Sky is My Blanket lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:02 Blue Sky is My Blanket
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:29 Blues Talking lyrics BUY MP3 05:29 Blues Talking lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:29 Blues Talking
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:19 I'm Sad and Lonesome lyrics BUY MP3 05:19 I'm Sad and Lonesome lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:19 I'm Sad and Lonesome
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:04 I Won lyrics BUY MP3 03:04 I Won lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:04 I Won
Johnnie Mae is an 80 plus year old lady blues singer who was a former drummer in Chicago and who is known for writing blues songs recorded by Jimmy Reed.
Bio / Background
Johnnie Mae Dunson
Big Boss Lady
Johnnie Mae Dunson Smith left Alabama in 1943 and came to Chicago where she learned drums from former medicine show dancer Eddie "Porkchop" Hines on Maxwell Street. She became an accompanist and songwriter for Jimmy Reed and recorded a few sides in the 1960's.
Lately the 79-year-old Dunson has emerged from obscurity and ill health to become a symbol of the grit and tenacity of Maxwell Street and she has played a prominent role in the many demonstrations for the preservation of what remains of the old market area. Bogfire's Jim Fraher persuaded her to cut this album together with her son, Jimi "Prime Time" Smith, and old Maxwell Street friends including Jimmie Lee Robinson and Frank Scott. The result is a sometimes quirky set of originals that evoke mysterious backwoods as vividly as Maxwell Street.
↓ more ↓Dunson's talents as a lyricist are highlighted on the feisty Big Boss Lady, her answer to Reed's Big Boss Man, the hauntingly poetic Blue Sky Is My Blanket, the astonishing a capella I Won, the hypnotic So Cold, and the steamy Blues Talking, a vocal duet with Jimmie Lee Robinson that demonstrates her amazing ability to adlib and create lyrics on the fly. Dunson is equal parts crusader, shaman, and liberated woman-without a doubt the elder stateswoman of Maxwell Street and of changing culture.
As dazzling as one of her-decorated canes, this CD should put Dunson in the running for "Comeback Artist of the Year" and other honors.
Justin O'Brien
Living Blues Sept/Oct 2000 issue
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