Jo Ann Kelly (5 January 1944 – 21 October 1990) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer and guitarist. She is respected for her strong blues vocal style and for playing

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

guitar.

Early life

Kelly was born in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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 The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, Little Richard and

Skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

in the late 1950s. She learned 3 or 4 guitar chords from her younger brother, Dave Kelly.

Career

She appeared on several

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s 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 Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene. History Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...

before releasing her first solo album titled ''Jo-Ann Kelly'' (1969), this was issued on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in the UK and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in the US. She was also a core member of

Tramp (band) Tramp were a British blues band, active during the late 1960s and early 1970s on an intermittent basis. This on/off activity and the loose, transient nature of the band's line-up were reflected in the group's name. The line-up centred on the ...

along with her brother Dave Kelly. Jo-Ann Kelly and her brother Dave helped raise donations for

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being "Wh ...

in the 1960s.

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

and

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

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.

Death

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, aged 46. Obituaries for Kelly appeared in major UK newspapers, including ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Remembrances and obituaries also appeared in contemporary

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

magazines such as ''

Blues & Rhythm ''Blues & Rhythm'' is a British monthly music magazine dealing with all aspects of blues and gospel music. Founded in July 1984 it is - along with its American counterpart '' Living Blues'' - considered to be the premier magazine for all aspects o ...

'' and the ''British Blues Review'' The obituary in ''The Independent'' remarked, "To many American performers Jo Ann Kelly was the only British singer to earn their respect for her development of what they would be justified in thinking as 'their' genre".

Discography

Primary releases

* ''Jo-Ann Kelly: Blues & Gospel'' (No label, 1968) – EP with four songs, pressing limited to 99 copies. All original recordings are included on ''Retrospect 1964-72''. * ''Jo-Ann Kelly'' ( Epic, 1969) * ''Same Thing on Their Minds'' (

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

, 1969) – With

Tony McPhee Anthony Charles McPhee (born 23 March 1944) is an English guitarist, and founder of the blues rock band Groundhogs. An early version of this band backed Champion Jack Dupree and John Lee Hooker on UK concerts in the mid-1960s. He is often cred ...

. * ''Jo Ann Kelly With John Fahey,

Woody Mann Haywood Lee Mann (December 30, 1952 – January 27, 2022) was an American guitarist. Biography He was born in New York, where he studied acoustic guitar with blues guitarist Reverend Gary Davis from 1968–72. From 1973–78, he continued pri ...

, John Miller, Alan Seidler'' ( Blue Goose, 1972) * ''Do It'' (Red Rag, 1976) – With Peter Emery. * ''Just Restless'', The Jo Ann Kelly Band (Appaloosa, 1984) * ''Jo Ann'' (Open, 1988) * ''Woman in (E)Motion Festival'' (Tradition & Moderne, 1995) – Recorded in Germany, 1988.

Compilations

* ''Retrospect 1964-72'' (Connoisseur Collection Document, 1990) * ''Key To The Highway: Rare And Unissued Recordings 1968-1974'' (

Mooncrest Mooncrest Historic District is a historic district in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, USA. This community was built during World War II as housing for defense workers. Mooncrest residents produced armor plate, munitions, and ships at the nearby ...

, 1999) * ''Talkin' Low: Rare And Unissued Recordings 1966-1988, volume 2'' (Mooncrest, 2000) * ''

Tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''t ...

1974: Rare And Unissued Recordings, volume 3'' (Mooncrest, 2001) * ''Black Rat Swing: The Collectors' Jo Ann Kelly'' (Castle, 2003) * ''Blues & Gospel: Rare and Unreleased Recordings'' ( Blues Matters!, 2004) * ''Do It & more'' ( Manhaton, 2008) – Songs from ''Do It'' (1976) plus additional songs. * ''I Asked For Water, She Gave Me Gasoline'' (

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

– LP-12455 1969)

Featured

* ''Standing At The Burying Ground'', Mississippi Fred McDowell (Red Lightnin', 1984) – Recorded live at the Mayfair Hotel, London, UK, 8 March 1969, featuring Jo Ann Kelly, liner notes by Jo Ann Kelly. * ''Been Here And Gone'', Woody Mann & Jo Ann Kelly &

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

(Acoustic Music Records, 1999) – Recorded 1971–72, Kelly plays on eight songs. * Memphis 69': The 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival.Concert film,played one song,accompanied by Guitarist,"Backwards" Sam Firk. Directed by Joe LaMatting/Produced by Bruce Watson&Lisa LaMattina. Executive Producer: Mathew Johnson,Bruce Watson&Gene Rosenthal.Fat Possum Records, 2019.

References

External links

Illustrated Jo Ann Kelly discography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Jo Ann 1944 births 1990 deaths People from Streatham 20th-century English singers English blues guitarists English blues singers English women guitarists Deaths from brain cancer in England Musicians from London Place of death missing 20th-century British guitarists 20th-century English women singers Tramp (band) members John Dummer Band members 20th-century women guitarists