Blues Queen Sylvia

about

Sylvia Lee Burton Embry (June 14, 1941 - February 28, 1992) grew up in Arkansas. She had been a vibrant part of the Chicago blues scene. Blues Queen Sylvia had a big husky voice in the tradition of Koko Taylor and Big Mama Thorton. She was backed by such greats as Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy Dawkins and Louisiana Red. For a period of time in the ‘70s and ‘80s, it appeared that Queen Sylvia Embry was going to emerge as one of Chicago’s leading blues women. After she emerged from her role as basswoman for Lefty Dizz and the Shock treatment in the late 1970s, she began fronting her own small band in South Side clubs and making guest appearances on the North Side circuit. Everywhere she went, her big smile, warm stage presence, rich gospel-rooted voice and solid bass playing won her new fans. There were (and are) only a few professional-quality instrumentalists among the city’s blues women, and only one other playing bass. “I played piano when I first started out as a kid,” Sylvia recalled, “and I got away from it because my grandmother was very strict. She demanded I play gospel, and I wanted to play a little boogie-woogie. I was crazy about Chuck Berry and Lloyd Price; I didn’t care for blues then. My grandmother and her friends would drink white lightning and play blues records at their little outdoor cookouts, but she didn’t want me to do it.” To please her family, Sylvia sang in church choirs, even in a professional gospel group, The Southern Echoes, while a teenager. But at the a

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albums

Midnight Baby

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Blues Women Anthology Vol.2 - DISC 1

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Blues Women Anthology Vol.2 - DISC 2

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Blues Women Anthology vol.2 [CD1]

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Blues Women Anthology vol.2 [CD2]

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Blues Women Anthology vol.2

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Blues Women Anthology Vol. 2

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Blues Women Anthology

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Blues Women Anthology - Vol 2 - CD1

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Blues Women Anthology Vol.2 -

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Blues Women Anthology Vol.2 - CD1

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Learnin' The Blues (5 Lessons)

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