Mickey Champion (born Mildred Sallier April 9, 1925 – November 24, 2014) was an American blues singer. With a career spanning five decades, Champion is best remembered for her powerful vocals, and for guesting alongside other prominent musical acts.

Biography

Champion was born in

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcas ...

. She was raised by her aunts and had her first experience as a singer at Lake Charles Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, where her grandfather was a bishop. Admired for the quality and intensity of her religious singing, she became part of a vocal trio, and while in high school was heard and praised by bandleader Louis Jordan. However, Champion, upon her family's insistence, was required to turn down an offer by Jordan to join his troupe. Shortly after graduating from high school, Champion married her first husband, Norman Champion, and in 1945 the couple moved to Los Angeles. Originally working as Little Mickey Champion, she soon lead an active career in the cities bustling

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

scene. The marriage between Mickey and Norman Champion was brief and soon ended in divorce. As her notoriety for her powerful vocalizing without the use of any microphones grew, Champion expanded her performing outside Los Angeles alongside other musical acts such as

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, Duke Ellington,

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, and Jackie Wilson in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Among her collaborators was

Roy Milton Roy Bunny Milton (July 31, 1907 – September 18, 1983) was an American R&B and jump blues singer, drummer and bandleader. Career Milton's grandmother was Chickasaw. He was born in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and grew up on an Indian reservation bef ...

, who Champion married, recorded several sides with in the mid-1950s, and stayed with until Milton's death in 1983. In addition, Champion recorded four singles, along with several demos. In the 1960s, Champion withdrew from touring to focus on her family, but still performed in nightclubs on weekends. After a long hiatus, she returned to recording, producing two albums ''I am Your Loving Legend!'' and ''What You Want'' both on Tandef Records.

Death

Champion suffered several

strokes A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop funct ...

before dying on November 24, 2014 in Los Angeles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Champion, Mickey American blues singers 1925 births 2014 deaths