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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZCOPELAND, ShemekiaShemekia Copeland didn't know at first she was going to be a singer, but her father did. He was Texas Blues guitar legend Johnny Copeland, who had made his home in Harlem from 1975, and took her on stage at the Cotton Club when she was eight years old. When she was 16 she began touring with her dad after he was diagnosed with a heart condition; she thought she was helping him, but she realized later that he had been helping her, continuing to get gigs and then letting her steal the show. Her voice has the power of Etta James and the smoothness of Chaka Khan, and Robert Plant called her the next Tina Turner; she acknowledges her influences, but she wants her audience to feel that she sings because she has no choice but to let the music out. Her dad lived long enough to know that her first Alligator album, Turn The Heat Up, was on the way when she was just 18. She appeared and sang "Salt In My Wounds" in the romantic comedy Three To Tango [1999]. Her second album, Wicked [2000], was followed by a spot on NPR's Morning Edition; she sang "I Always Get My Man" in the film Broken Hearts Club that year and appeared on Austin City Limits in November 2001. Talking To Strangers [2002] was produced by Dr. John, and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart. She appeared in Martin Scorcese's blues film Lightning In A Bottle [2004] and her fourth album The Soul Truth [2005] was produced by Steve Cropper, who also plays on it. "Who Stole My Radio?" from that album was something of a hit single. A winner of several W.C. Handy awards, she's a well-established star in the blues constellation. |