Saturday, April 18, 2026

 ALBUMS THAT DESERVE ANOTHER LISTEN

Jo-Ann Kelly - Jo-Ann Kelly (1969)


01. Louisiana Blues
02. Fingerprints Blues
03. Driftin' and Driftin'
04. Look Here Partner
05. Moon Going Down
06. Yellow Bee Blues
07. Whiskey Head Woman
08. Sit Down on My Knee
09. Man I'm Lovin'
10. Jinx Blues
11. Come on in My Kitchen

Jo-Ann Kelly - Vocals & Guitar
Recorded in London, March 1969.

Jo-Ann Kelly (5 January 1944 – 21 October 1990) was an English blues singer and guitarist. She is respected for her strong blues vocal style and for playing country blues guitar.

Kelly was born in Streatham, South London, England on 5 January 1944. She had two younger siblings, Susan and Dave. Her early interest in performing music grew out of hearing the Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Skiffle in the late 1950s. She learned 3 or 4 guitar chords from her younger brother, Dave Kelly.

She appeared on several compilation albums with her first in 1966 being New Sounds In Folk and then two years later on Blues Anytime Vol. 1: An Anthology Of British Blues(1968) Immediate Records before releasing her first solo album titled Jo-Ann Kelly (1969), this was issued on CBS in the UK and Epic Records in the US. She was also a core member of Tramp along with her brother Dave Kelly.
Canned Heat and Johnny Winter both tried to recruit Kelly, but she preferred to stay in the United Kingdom. She expanded to the European club circuit, where she worked with guitarist Pete Emery and other bands. In the early 1980s, she was a member of the Terry Smith Blues Band.

In 1988, Kelly began to suffer from headaches. In 1989 she had an operation to remove a malignant brain tumour. She died on 21 October 1990 in England, aged 46.

Jo-Ann Kelly (5 January 1944 - 21 October 1990); The rock era saw a few white female singers, like Janis Joplin, show they could sing the blues. But one who could outshine them all, Jo-Ann Kelly seemed to slip through the cracks, mostly because she favored the acoustic, Delta style rather than rocking out with a heavy band behind her. But with a huge voice, and a strong guitar style influenced by Memphis Minnie and Charley Patton, she was the queen.

Jo-Ann Kelly was released on CBS (Epic) 1969 and reissued on Beat Goes On, 1998. The British blues boom' was almost over, but Jo-Ann Kelly stayed close to the real thing. CBS sent her to the USA that year, she rehearsed with Johnny Winter and appeared on the same bill with her heroes Bukka White and Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Centenary Blues Festival in Memphis (the only British artist who was invited), and duetted with McDowell on his Standing At The Burial Ground, made live in London that year. 

Look for the link in the comments

17 comments:

  1. If You Download And Enjoy This Then Your Comments/Feedback/Thanks Are Most Welcome

    https://pixeldrain.com/u/zXE4ptiG

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  2. I saw the album picture and I was not ready for the voice that I heard on the album. She has a fine strong singing voice. Thanks for sharing this.

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    1. True N8Deepbc, you look at that album photo and expect her to sound like Joan Baez or Judy Collins, but she sounds like a Mississippi fieldhand.

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  3. Thanks Bob Mac for the 'new' to me artist and the story.

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    1. Glad you like it LB, she sure was a remarkable woman.

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  4. Thanks for this one Bob. Mike. πŸ‘

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  5. Thank you Bob, I don't know this one but I'll give it a listen. Wayne D

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  6. Great album! You'd think Jo-Ann Kelly came from the Delta, like Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, a throwback to the Black blues singers women of the 1920s and 30s. It's truly incredible. Great find for me, Bob!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Patrick, she was truly gifted and had certainly listened to all the right records. I believe Memphis Minnie had been a huge influence on her.

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  7. Thanks for the introduction to Jo-Ann Kelly

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  8. You're most welcome RMstorm, glad you like her album.

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  9. Thanks Bab, well worth a listen. She left us way too soon.

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