Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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NELSON, Tracy

(b 27 December 1947, Madison WI) Singer, songwriter with a powerful voice, who touches all the bases in Americana, showing us where it all comes from. She began in folk clubs in the early '60s, graduated to blues, joining the Fabulous Imitations '65, later forming the White Trash Blues Band. She moved to San Francisco '67, joining Mother Earth as lead singer; they built up a reputation on the West Coast, made highly praised LP Mother Earth Presents Tracy Nelson Country '70 in Nashville, with Scotty Moore and other Nashville session men (later on WB CD, along with a Best Of); Mother Earth split '72 and she moved to Nashville permanently, recording for Atlantic (Tracy Nelson '74), Columbia, MCA (Time Is On My Side and Sweet Soul Music both on One Way CDs); sang backup for Willie Nelson (no relation) including a Grammy-winning duet 'After The Fire Is Gone' '74. She sang backup with Guy Clark, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band etc; her 'Soul Of Sadness' was used in a Kevin Costner movie. She restarted her career on Rounder with In The Here And Now '93, was nominated for a Grammy and carried on '95-6 with I Feel So Good (with Delbert McClinton, Al Kooper etc) and Move On (guests included Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt).

Joining other talented women who ought to be household names, she worked in a trio with Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas, then in a quartet with Dorothy Morrison, Annie Sampson and Angela Straheli for The Blues Broads, recorded live at the Throckmorton Theater in Mill Valley CA (2011). Her first new album in 11 years was Life Don't Miss Nobody (2023), showing no diminution of her magic, including her usual range, from a duet with Willie on Hank Williams's 'Honky Tonkin', to Gene McDaniels's 'Compared To What', which had been a hit for jazzman Les McCann in the late '60s.