Toni Price (born March 13, 1961) is 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 ...
singer
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 ...
from
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
, United States.
Life and career
Price was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. Her adoptive parents, the Prices, named her Luiese Esther after her grandmothers. Her first exposure to blues was through second-generation blueswoman
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...
. Luiese later began to study the recordings of women blues singers such as
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 ...
and
Victoria Spivey
Victoria Regina Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976), sometimes known as Queen Victoria, was an American blues singer and songwriter. During a recording career that spanned 40 years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, she worked with Louis A ...
, from whose music Raitt herself had learned.
Luiese moved to
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, where she started schooling and began singing, then moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, where a summer parks program featured a talent contest in her 10th year, which she entered as Toni Price. This was her first recorded appearance on a Nashville stage, belting out "
One Tin Soldier
"One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste (consisting of Dixie Lee Innes, Bruce Innes, Graham Bruce, Joseph Cavender and Bliss Mackie) firs ...
". Price's conservative family wasn't particularly musical: ''"Since I was adopted, they didn't know what to expect of me, and I believe you're born to do whatever it is you do - that maybe my
irthparents were musical. Maybe not. But I knew as a little bitty child I was going to be a singer. I didn't know how you did it or know any musicians, but I knew I would get there."''
Price musically grew in Nashville, where she recorded a few
country and western singles. However, she felt frustrated by the 'rigid' Nashville music industry. She accepted an invitation to play the
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
music festival in Austin in 1989. The town's music fans "just responded so lovingly that I said that's it. I know where I belong."
Here she met and learned from the locals, who included
Clifford Antone
Clifford Antone (October 27, 1949 – May 22, 2006) was the founder of the eponymous Austin blues club Antone's and independent record label Antone's Records and Tapes, as well as a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson, ...
, owner of Antone's blues nightclub, and Austin-area guitarists such as
Derek O'Brien, who produced her second album, "Hey". Shortly after she began singing in country bars in Nashville, she met songwriter
Gwil Owen, who wrote eight (one co-written) of the 15 songs on her debut, ''
Swim Away'' (1993). Price cites vocalists
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...
,
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
,
Patsy Cline
Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...
, and
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 ...
as her major influences.
''Swim Away'' and Price's second album, ''
Hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
'' (1995), received praise from both fans and critics. She has been often compared with Patsy Cline ("Patsy Cline on a Harley") and Bonnie Raitt. Price has won numerous awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year (1994–97), Album of the Year (''Hey''), Song of the Year ("Tumbleweed"), and Blues Artist of the Year. Her third album, ''
Sol Power'', was recorded at a club in Texas's remote town of Alpine. ''Sol Power'' (1999) is an acoustic live set from the
Railroad Blues Club - in a tiny town in the picturesque southwestern desert lands of Texas. The landscape there inspired the band to, in Toni's words, "take it to the limit." ''
Low Down and Up'' (1999) followed, and then came ''
Midnight Pumpkin'', (2001), ''
Born to Be Blue'' (2003), ''
Talk Memphis'' (2007), and ''Cherry Sunday Orchestra'' (2010).
Except for infrequent appearances in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, or an occasional music festival elsewhere, Price stays close to home and her daughter. "I have a sweet situation here," Price told
John Burnett of
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
. "I don't have to go anywhere. People come and see me and I'm so, so lucky."
[ Price performed at the wedding of ]Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...
and Daniel Moder in Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Nuevo México Governor Fernando Cha ...
, on July 4, 2002.
Price has always performed music on her own terms; she refuses to go out and regularly did not even stand up while performing every Tuesday night for 15 years until June 2007 at the Continental Club in Austin, where music lovers feel that Toni Price has the same star potential as other musical talents such as Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...
, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lyle Lovett, and Nanci Griffith
Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award f ...
that the town produced.
''"My favorite thing someone says to one of my friends is, 'Why isn't she famous?' I love when they say that because that means they think maybe I'm good enough to be famous. To me, famous looks like a lot of work."''
Price relocated to San Diego in June 2007, but two years later, in June 2009, she moved back to Austin.
Discography
;LPs:
* 1993: '' Swim Away'' (Discovery 77003)
* 1995: ''Hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
'' (Discovery 77022)
* 1997: '' Sol Power'' (Discovery 74711)
* 1999: '' Low Down and Up'' ( Antone's 10044)
* 2001: '' Midnight Pumpkin'' (Texas Music Group 52)
* 2003: '' Born to Be Blue'' (Texas Music Group 60)
* 2007: '' Talk Memphis'' (Texas Music Group
63)
* 2010: ''Cherry Sunday Orchestra'' (Toni Price Records)
;EPs:
* 1992: ''Toni Price Live'' (Toni Price Records)
* 2007: ''Price is Right'' (Antone's TMG-ANT 0064)
;Appears on:
* 1992: David Schnaufer - ''Dulcimer Sessions'' (SFL Records 5)
* 1992: Various Artists - ''Antone's Women Bringing You The Best In Blues'' (Antone's ANT 9902)
* 1995: Ian Moore - ''Live from Austin'' (Capricorn 947000)
* 1995: Loose Diamonds - ''New Location'' (Dos DOSCD 7010)
* 1995: Sue Foley - ''Big City Blues'' (Antone's 37)
* 1995: Various Artists - ''Threadgill's Supper Session Second Helpings'' (Watermelon WM CD 1052)
* 1996: Various Artists - ''Cowpunks'' (Vinyl Junkie VJLP002)
* 1996: Various Artists - ''Luxury Liner Volume 1'' (Glitterhouse GRCD 413)
* 1996: Various Artists - ''Rig Rock Deluxe: A Musical Salute To The American Truck Driver'' (Upstart Sounds 025)
* 1997: 8 1/2 Souvenirs - ''Souvonica'' (Continental COTR 8123)
* 1997: Candye Kane: ''Diva la Grande'' (Discovery 74710)
* 1997: Loose Diamonds - ''Fresco Fiasco'' (Freedom 1011)
* 1998: Beaver Nelson - ''Last Hurrah'' (Freedom 1019)
* 1999: Michael Hall And The Woodpeckers - ''Dead By Dinner'' (Blue Rose BLU CD0128)
* 2000: The LeRoi Brothers - ''Kings of the Catnap'' (Rounder 37)
* 2000: Various Artists - ''Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues: New Acoustic Recordings Of Pre-War Blues Classics'' (Shanachie 9026)
* 2001: Libbi Bosworth - Libbiville (Stark Raving 7007)
* 2001: The James Hyland Band - ''Place I Call Home'' (Tin Roof 3405)
* 2002: Various Artists - ''Happy Birthday Buck!: A Texas Salute To Buck Owens'' (Texas Music Round-Up RU2003)
* 2002: Champ Hood - ''Bon Haven'' (South Congress Records 1003)
* 2002: Roger Wallace - ''The Lowdown'' (Texas Music Group TMG-LS 4006)
* 2003: Alex Parker And Jake Parker - ''Music From The Motion Picture The Life Of David Gale'' (Decca 066 733-2)
* 2004: Various Artists - ''Gulf Coast Beach Blast'' (Texas Music Group 62)
* 2009: David Hamburger - ''Original Soundtrack: Wild Texas Weather'' (Texas Spirit Theater 5637603876
* 2009: Various Artists - ''Daughters of the Alamo'' (Retroworld / Floating World FLOATM 6022)
* 2009: Various Artists - ''Sing To Me: a Lullaby Album''
* 2013: Two Tons of Steel - ''Unraveled'' (Smith Music Group 7173)
See also
*Music of Austin
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
References
External links
toniprice.net
continentalclub.com
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Toni
American women singers
Singers from New Jersey
Musicians from Philadelphia
Musicians from Austin, Texas
Living people
1961 births
American blues singers
Discovery Records artists
21st-century American women