Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women was a three-woman

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 ...

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area. It was founded in 1984 by

Ann Rabson Ann Rabson (April 12, 1945 – January 30, 2013)Allmusic biography/ref> was an American blues vocalist, pianist and guitar player. She was a solo recording artist signed to Alligator Records and was a member of Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women ...

Gaye Adegbalola Gaye Adegbalola (born Gaye Todd; March 21, 1944, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States)Gaye ...

and Earlene Lewis. Lewis separated from the band in 1992 and was replaced by Andra Faye. The group then featured Rabson on

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, Adegbalola on vocals and guitar, and Faye on vocals,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and guitar. Saffire's music was a combination of serious blues songs and comedic

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

s. They covered original songs (such as "Do Your Duty" by Wesley 'Sox' Wilson, "You Got to Know How" by

Sippie Wallace Sippie Wallace (born Beulah Belle Thomas, November 1, 1898 – November 1, 1986) was an American blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Her early career in tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale". Between 1923 and 1927, she recor ...

& Jack Viertel, and "Don't You Tell Me"), as well as the music of blueswomen who had inspired them, such as

Big Mama Thornton Willie Mae Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984), better known as Big Mama Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B genres. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's " Hound Dog", in 1952, which becam ...

Ida Cox Ida Cox (born Ida M. Prather, February 26, 1888 or 1896 – November 10, 1967) was an American singer and vaudeville performer, best known for her blues performances and recordings. She was billed as "The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues".Harriso ...

and

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 ...

. Their music, both comedic and serious, tends to deal with feminist themes, which has made them popular outside of traditional blues circles. Saffire was the first acoustic band to be signed by

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the ''Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using hi ...

. Their song "Middle Aged Blues Boogie," written by Adegbalola, was named best original song at the

W.C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...

Awards (now the

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 1990. Saffire has shared the stage with

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

and

. An announcement on the group's website in November, 2009, stated Saffire had retired and amicably disbanded. Rabson died on January 30, 2013, in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

, after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. She was 67. Andra Faye is now living and playing in the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

area.

Discography

* ''Middle Age Blues'' (self-produced cassette, 1987) * ''Uppity Blues Women'' (1990) * ''Hot Flash'' (1991) * ''Broad Casting'' (1992) * ''Old, New, Borrowed & Blue'' (1994) * ''Cleaning House'' (1996) * ''Live & Uppity'' (1998) * ''Ain't Gonna Hush'' (2001) * ''Deluxe Edition'' (compilation, 2006) * ''Havin' The Last Word'' (2009)Polityka 2009 - Issues 7-13 - Page 51 "Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women, Havin' the Last Word, Alligator 2009 ... Robią to za pomocą najnowszej płyty o wymownym tytule ,, Havin' the Last Word". Hojną ręką proponują nam szesnaście różnorodnych bluesowych kawałków, w tym sporo własnego autorstwa."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women American blues musical groups Musical groups from Washington, D.C.