13 weeks at No.1 for “Memphis Blues” on the Billboard Blues Album Chart!
“Holding her own alongside players of the first magnitude (Allen Toussaint, BB King), she’s cheeky on Louis Jordan’s bawdy Early in the Morning and slinky as she does a deal with the devil on Crossroads. Worth hearing”- THE GUARDIAN***
“Memphis Blues is a curveball, but that’s its charm. It’s fun to hear Lauper go all badass Betty Boop on “Don’t Cry No More” and “Rollin’ and Tumblin’,” squeaking and hollering with help from Ann Peebles, Allen Toussaint and B.B. King. ” – ROLLING STONE***
Cyndi Lauper Memphis Blues: A collection of blues cover songs, recorded this March at Electraphonic Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, features appearances by such great artists as B.B. King, Jonny Lang, Allen Toussaint, Ann Peebles and Charlie Musselwhite.
“This is the album I’ve wanted to make for years,” said Lauper. “All of these beautiful songs, and all of the great players on the album, were carefully chosen because I’ve admired them my entire life. And I knew from the moment Alan Toussaint hit the keys in ‘Shattered Dreams’ that we were creating something really special.”
The feel of Memphis Blues is gritty and full of life. It bristles with the kind of energy that earmarked the hit singles invented on the fly at Stax Records, the historic and spiritual prototype for Electraphonic, where musicians of multiple generations work side-by-side creating soul-driven anthems for the brokenhearted, the unrequited, and the overlooked.
Lauper, who traveled from New York to Memphis to set up camp at Electraphonic Recording Studio, assembled a team of crackerjack session players to cut the way she knew this record had to be done: live, analog, with Cyndi herself calling out arrangements on the studio floor.
Produced by Scott Bomar and mixed by longtime collaborator William Wittman, Memphis Blues features appearances by a veritable dream team of blues and soul greats, including harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite, vocalist Ann “I Can’t Stand the Rain” Peebles, brilliant Crescent City organist Allen Toussaint, and hotshot guitar heroes Jonny Lang and legend B.B. King.
Memphis Blues session players include Stax veterans Lester Snell and Skip Pitts, and Hi Rhythm Section alums Leroy Hodges and Howard Grimes, studio careerists who cut their teeth recording with the likes of Isaac Hayes and Al Green. Along with the punctuating blasts provided by trumpeter Marc Franklin, baritone saxophonist Kirk Smother, and tenor saxman Derrick Williams, they provided a steadfast foundation for Lauper’s impeccable vocals.
TRACKLISTING
1. I’m Just Your Fool (feat. Charlie Musselwhite)
2. Shattered Dreams (feat. Allen Toussaint)
3. Early in the Morning (feat. Allen Toussaint & B.B. King)
4. Romance in the Dark
5. How Blue Can You Get (feat. Jonny Lang)
6. Down Don’t Bother Me (feat. Charlie Musselwhite)
7. Don’t Cry No More
8. Rollin and Tumblin’ (feat. Kenny Brown and Ann Peebles)
9. Down So Low
10. Mother Earth (feat. Allen Toussaint)
11. Cross Roads (feat. Jonny Lang)
12. Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues
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Irish PR Contact: Linda Coogan Byrne/ 0851659065
