Big Time Sarah
Encyclopedia
Big Time Sarah, is an American
blues
singer.
, Illinois
, from early childhood, where she sang in gospel
choirs in South Chicago churches. At age 14, she began singing blues
at the Morgan's Lounge Club, and in the 1970s she played with musicians such as Magic Slim
, Buddy Guy
, The Aces, Junior Wells
, Johnny Bernard, and Erwin Helfer
.
Her experience playing with Sunnyland Slim
led to her first solo release, a single released on his label, Airways Records. Teamed with Zora Young
and Bonnie Lee
in 'Blues with the Girls', Sarah toured Europe in 1982 and recorded an album in Paris
, France
. From 1989 she performed with a group called The Big Time Express. Since 1993 she has recorded for Delmark Records
.
Compilations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer.
Biography
Sarah Streeter was raised in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, from early childhood, where she sang in gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
choirs in South Chicago churches. At age 14, she began singing blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
at the Morgan's Lounge Club, and in the 1970s she played with musicians such as Magic Slim
Magic Slim
Magic Slim is an American blues singer and guitarist.-Biography:Magic Slim was forced to give up playing the piano when he lost his little finger in a cotton gin mishap. He moved first to nearby Grenada. He first came to Chicago in 1955 with his friend and mentor Magic Sam...
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, The Aces, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, Johnny Bernard, and Erwin Helfer
Erwin Helfer
Erwin Helfer is an American boogie-woogie, blues and jazz pianist.-Biography:Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, United States, as a child Helfer was more interested in classical music than blues. Helfer was introduced to piano blues as a young teenager growing up in Chicago in the early 1950s...
.
Her experience playing with Sunnyland Slim
Sunnyland Slim
Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
led to her first solo release, a single released on his label, Airways Records. Teamed with Zora Young
Zora Young
Zora Young is an American blues singer. She is a distant relative of Howlin' Wolf.Young's family moved to Chicago at age seven and sang gospel at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church...
and Bonnie Lee
Bonnie Lee
Bonnie Lee was an American Chicago blues singer. Known as 'Sweetheart of the Blues', she is best remembered for her lengthy working relationships with Sunnyland Slim and Willie Kent...
in 'Blues with the Girls', Sarah toured Europe in 1982 and recorded an album in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. From 1989 she performed with a group called The Big Time Express. Since 1993 she has recorded for Delmark Records
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
.
Discography
Studio Albums| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Undecided | Blues R&B Recording |
| 1993 | Lay It on 'em Girls | Delmark Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in... |
| 1996 | Blues in the Year One-D-One | Delmark |
| 2001 | A Million of You | Delmark |
Compilations
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Long Tall Daddy w/Sunnyland Slim | Arcola Records |
| 1982 | Blues with the Girls | Epm Musique |