Angela Strehli
Encyclopedia
Angela Strehli is an American
electric blues
singer and songwriter
. She is also a Texas blues
historian and impresario. Despite a sporadic recording
career, Strehli spends time each year performing in Europe
, the US
and Canada
.
and bass guitar
before becoming a vocalist. In 1966 she visited Chicago
, and attended concert
s given by Howlin' Wolf
, Muddy Waters
and Buddy Guy
. In her final university year, Strehli and Lewis Cowdrey formed the Fabulous Rockets. Strehli then sang as a backing vocalist
for James Polk and the Brothers and assisted with Storm, which had been formed by Cowdrey and Jimmie Vaughan
.
In 1972, she was a founding member of Southern Feeling, along with W. C. Clark
and Denny Freeman
. Three years later Strehli became the stage manager and sound technician at Antone's
, a nightclub
in Austin, Texas. By 1986, Strehli had recorded Stranger Blues (EP
) which help launch Antone's own record label
. Her debut album
was Soul Shake (1987, Antone's Records), and she appeared on Dreams Come True, with Lou Ann Barton
and Marcia Ball
(1990). Her own effort Blonde and Blue (1993, Rounder Records) assisted in building the Austin, Texas
blues scene, alongside nightclub
owner Clifford Antone, Kim Wilson
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
and Jimmie Vaughan
. In 1998, Strehli released Deja Blue, and Blue Highway followed in 2005.
Strehli has either recorded, toured or performed with Andy Santana
, Elvin Bishop
and Pinetop Perkins
, and appeared at festivals
including Notodden Blues Festival
, Long Beach Blues Festival
, Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival
and the San Francisco Blues Festival
. In 2003, she recorded music for the tribute album
, Shout, Sister, Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe
.
Strehli is now based in San Francisco.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electric blues
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. She is also a Texas blues
Texas blues
Texas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
historian and impresario. Despite a sporadic recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
career, Strehli spends time each year performing in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Biography
In the early 1960s, Strehli learned the harmonicaHarmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
before becoming a vocalist. In 1966 she visited Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and attended concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s given by Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
and Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
. In her final university year, Strehli and Lewis Cowdrey formed the Fabulous Rockets. Strehli then sang as a backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
for James Polk and the Brothers and assisted with Storm, which had been formed by Cowdrey and Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
.
In 1972, she was a founding member of Southern Feeling, along with W. C. Clark
W. C. Clark
W. C. Clark is an American blues musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s.-Biography:...
and Denny Freeman
Denny Freeman
Denny Freeman is an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman has also played piano and electric organ, both in concert and on various recordings...
. Three years later Strehli became the stage manager and sound technician at Antone's
Clifford Antone
Clifford Antone was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians....
, a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in Austin, Texas. By 1986, Strehli had recorded Stranger Blues (EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
) which help launch Antone's own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Her debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was Soul Shake (1987, Antone's Records), and she appeared on Dreams Come True, with Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton
Lou Ann Barton is an American blues singer based, out of Austin, Texas since the 1970s.-Biography:...
and Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball is an American blues singer and pianist, born in Orange, Texas but who grew up in Vinton, Louisiana. She was described in USA Today as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist.....
(1990). Her own effort Blonde and Blue (1993, Rounder Records) assisted in building the Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
blues scene, alongside nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
owner Clifford Antone, Kim Wilson
Kim Wilson
Kim Wilson is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff", and "Wrap It Up."-Career:...
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
and Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
. In 1998, Strehli released Deja Blue, and Blue Highway followed in 2005.
Strehli has either recorded, toured or performed with Andy Santana
Andy Santana
Andy Santana is an American vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has been performing since the 1970s.-Biography:...
, Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
and Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop Perkins
Joseph William Perkins , known by the stage name Pinetop Perkins, was an American blues musician, specializing in piano music...
, and appeared at festivals
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
including Notodden Blues Festival
Notodden Blues Festival
Notodden Blues Festival is one of the largest blues music festivals in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. The festival is held in Notodden, Norway, usually in early August.-History:...
, Long Beach Blues Festival
Long Beach Blues Festival
The Long Beach Blues Festival, in Long Beach, California, was established in full in 1980, and is one of the largest Blues festivals and is the second oldest on the West Coast . It is held on Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend. For many years it was held on the athletic field on the...
, Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival
Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival
The Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival is an annual blues music festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada first held in 1999...
and the San Francisco Blues Festival
San Francisco Blues Festival
Debuting in 1973, the San Francisco Blues Festival is the longest running blues festival in the United States. Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the blues festival to educate the public about the history and evolution of the blues...
. In 2003, she recorded music for the tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
, Shout, Sister, Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Shout, Sister, Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Shout, Sister, Shout: A Tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe is a 2003 tribute album to Sister Rosetta Tharpe. It's an enhanced CD with both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.- Track Listing :...
.
Strehli is now based in San Francisco.
Discography
- Soul Shake (1987) - Antone's
- Blonde and Blue (1993) - RounderRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
- Deja Blue (1998) - A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
- Blue Highway (2005) - M.C. Records