BARBARA LYNN

               

Artist Biography by Steve Huey in allmusic : 

Singer/guitarist Barbara Lynn was a rare commodity during her heyday. Not only was she a female instrumentalist (one of the very first to hit the charts), but she also played left-handed -- quite well at that -- and even wrote some of her own material. Lynn's music often straddled the line between blues and Southern R&B, and since much of her early work -- including the number one R&B hit "You'll Lose a Good Thing" -- was recorded in New Orleans, it bore the sonic imprint of the Crescent City. Lynn was born Barbara Lynn Ozen in Beaumont, TX, on January 16, 1942; she played the piano as a child before switching to guitar, inspired by Elvis Presley. In junior high, Lynn formed her own band, Bobbie Lynn and the Idols; at this point, her musical role models veered between bluesmen (Guitar Slim, Jimmy Reed) and female pop singers (Brenda Lee, Connie Francis). After winning a few talent shows and playing some teen dances, the still-underage Lynn started working the local clubs and juke joints, risking getting kicked out of school if she had been discovered. Singer Joe Barry caught her live act and recommended her to his friend, producer/impresario Huey P. Meaux, aka the Crazy Cajun.

Here Is Barbara Lynn With her parents' consent, Meaux brought Lynn to New Orleans to record at the legendary Cosimo's studio. Lynn cut a few singles for the Jamie label with the understanding that if none hit, she was to attend college instead of pursuing music right off the bat. In 1962, her self-penned ballad "You'll Lose a Good Thing" became a national hit, reaching the pop Top Ten and climbing all the way to number one on the R&B charts. Her first album (of the same name) was also released that year, featuring ten of her originals among its 12 tracks. Lynn continued to record for Jamie up through 1965, producing follow-up R&B hits like "You're Gonna Need Me" and "Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')," the latter of which was recorded by the Rolling Stones in 1965. In 1966, Lynn switched over to Meaux's Tribe label and cut "You Left the Water Running," which became something of an R&B standard and was covered by the likes of Otis Redding. In 1967, she signed with Atlantic and had another R&B hit with "This Is the Thanks I Get" early the following year; she also issued another album, Here Is Barbara Lynn, in 1968. Lynn scored one last hit for Atlantic in 1972's "(Until Then) I'll Suffer," but by this point, she had several children to worry about raising; dissatisfied with her promotion anyway, she wound up effectively retiring from the music business for most of the '70s and '80s, though she did play the occasional low-key tour.

So GoodLynn returned to music in the mid-'80s, touring Japan for the first time in 1984; she later cut a live album there, called You Don't Have to Go, which was eventually issued in the States by Ichiban. Lynn had managed to retain a cult following among connoisseurs of American soul and blues in several different pockets of the world, and toured internationally during the early '90s. In 1994, Bullseye Blues issued her first full-fledged studio album in over two decades, So Good; Until Then I'll Suffer followed in 1996. Lynn later caught on with the respected blues label Antone's, and in 2000 she cut Hot Night Tonight, which featured a couple of raps by her son Bachelor Wise.

              

              

Desde niña comenzó a tocar el piano, pasando posteriormente a la guitarra, encordada para tocar con la mano izquierda, ya que Lynn es zurda. Influida tanto por artistas de moda como Brenda Lee, Connie Francis o Elvis Presley1​ como por los músicos de blues, Guitar Slim o Jimmy Reed, se presentó a varios concursos de talentos locales y pronto fundó su propia banda juvenil, llamada Bobbie Lynn and Her Idols.

Comenzó a actuar en clubes locales de Texas hasta que fue descubierta por el cantante Joe Barry que le presentó al productor Huey P. Meaux.

Con el consentimiento de sus padres, Meaux, se llevó a Lynn a Nueva Orleans para grabar su primer single “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” coescrita por Lynn y Meaux, y que contó con la colaboración de importantes músicos profesionales como Mac Rebennack (Dr.John).

Publicado por Jamie Records, “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” llegó al número 1 de las listas de éxitos nacionales de rhythm and blues y entró en el top ten de las listas pop de 1962. La canción fue posteriormente grabada por artistas como Aretha Franklin o Freddy Fender. Lynn también lanzó un álbum, titulado You’ll Lose a Good Thing que contenía diez de sus composiciones.

Lynn constituyó un fenómeno inusual para la época, ya que se trataba de una mujer afroamericana que componía sus propias canciones y que además tocaba la guitarra principal. Pronto estuvo de gira junto a grandes músicos de soul como Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, James Brown, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Ike & Tina Turner, The Temptations y B.B. King. Apareció en dos ocasiones en el espectáculo American Bandstand en el Teatro Apollo de Nueva York y su canción “Oh Baby (We´ve Got A Good Thing Goin’)” de 1964 fue versioneada por los Rolling Stones en el álbum de 1965 The Rolling Stones Now!.

Barbara Lynn continuó grabando para el sello Jamie Records hasta 1966, año en el que grabó “You Left the Water Running”, su último éxito antes de firmar con Atlantic Records al año siguiente. Con esta nueva discográfica grabó en 1968 su álbum Here Is Barbara Lynn. En 1970, a los 28 años, Lynn se casó por primera vez. Fruto de este matrimonio nacieron sus tres hijos y se trasladó a vivir a Los Angeles. La escasa promoción de su discográfica y la dedicación a su familia, hicieron que Barbara Lynn tomara la decisión de retirarse profesionalmente de la música. No obstante, durante la década de los 70 y parte de los 80, reaparecía ocasionalmente en clubes de Los Angeles y grabó algunos sinlges en pequeñas discográficas. En 1984 realizó una gira por Japón, y grabó un álbum en vivo, You Don’t Have to Go, que fue lanzado posteriormente en EE.UU. Tras la muerte de su marido, reanudó su carrera musical y volvió a Beaumont, Texas, donde vivía su madre. Siguió realizando giras internacionales, por Europa y otros lugares. En 1994, por primera vez en más de veinte años, Lynn vuelve a grabar un álbum de estudio, So Good. En 1999 recibió el premio Pioneer Award concedido por la Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

En la actualidad, Barbara Lynn, continúa residiendo en su ciudad natal y participando en conciertos por todo el mundo.