Precious Bryant (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Bussey; January 4, 1942 – January 12, 2013) was an American
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 ...
,
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
, and
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
singer and guitarist. Bryant is described as one of Georgia's great blueswomen.
She played
Piedmont fingerstyle guitar.
Bryant was born in
Talbot County, Georgia
Talbot County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. The 2020 census showed a population of 5,733. The county seat and largest city is Talbotton.
History
Talbot County was created from a portion of Musco ...
, United States. She was the third child of nine and first became interested in singing by performing at her local Baptist church with her sisters. Bryant learned to play guitar from her father and uncle before dropping out of high school in eleventh grade and beginning to perform wherever she could.
Her uncle was blues musician
George Henry Bussey.
She was first recorded by folklorist
George Mitchell in 1967, who described her as "Georgia musical treasure." In 1983, she performed at the Chattahoochee Folk Festival, and soon began playing at local, regional, and international venues to a growing fanbase.
In 1995, Bryant met Tim Duffy and became involved with the
Music Maker Relief Foundation, who assisted her in booking global tours and shows and increasing her following through events like Blues to Bop in Lugano, Switzerland, Port Townsend Blues Festival, and Chicken Raid in Atlanta, Georgia.
Bryant released three solo albums. Her 2002 debut, ''Fool Me Good,'' was nominated for two
Blues Music Award
The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...
s, in the categories Acoustic Blues Album of the Year and Best New Artist Debut. In 2006, she was nominated for a similar award for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year, as were
Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known for ...
,
Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...
and the winner of the award,
Etta James
Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...
. Her song "Morning Train" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 film
Black Snake Moan.
Bryant died on January 12, 2013, in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
, of complications from
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
and
congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
.
Discography
* ''Fool Me Good'' (2002) – Terminus
* ''The Truth'' (2004) – Terminus
* ''My Name Is Precious'' (2005) –
Music Maker
Bryant was first recorded in 1969 by
George Mitchell in
Waverly Hall, Georgia
Waverly Hall is a town in Harris County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 735 at the 2010 census, and in 2018 the estimated population was 747.
History
A post ...
. Three songs from that session were released on 7" vinyl by
Fat Possum Records
Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...
, under the title ''George Mitchell Collection, vol. 37''.
References
External links
*
1942 births
2013 deaths
American blues singers
American blues guitarists
American country guitarists
American country singer-songwriters
American folk musicians
People from Talbot County, Georgia
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
20th-century American guitarists
Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
20th-century American women guitarists
21st-century American women
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
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