Hyper Focus Chris Bailey

Wildfire, perfectly captures in a word the burning power of Elles Bailey’s vocals and stage presence as she sings blues that have captured in its blue flame, country, roots and soul. The voice is smoky with textures and tones that pulls out lyrics and coats them in Elles special brand of Bristol fanned Wildfire. Often the word unique is used when talking about an artist especially on a debut album. In the case of Elles Bailey it is most definitely true. Her blues fuelled sound is lived-in, and is the fortuitous result of a childhood illness. Having recovered from both viral and bacterial pneumonia; her voice at the age of three had changed, leading to her ENT specialist prophetically observing, “If she ever wants to sing, she’ll be a natural blues vocalist!”

Born Mildred Rinker in Tekoa, Washington, Bailey retained the last name of her first husband, Ted Bailey, when she moved to Seattle to bolster her singing career. With the help of her second husband, Benny Stafford, she became an established blues and jazz singer on the east coast. in 1925 she secured work for her brother, Al Rinker and his partner Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby. Crosby helped Bailey in turn by introducing her to Paul Whiteman. She sang with Paul Whiteman's band 1929 to 1933. In the mid 1930s, she recorded with her third husband Red Norvo. A dynamic couple, they earned the nicknames "Mr. and Mrs. Swing." Despite her divorce from Red, she and her third husband would continue to record together in until 1945. Suffering from diabetes and depression, she only made a few recordings following the Second World War. She died in Poughkeepsie, New York of heart failure, which was chiefly due to her diabetes.

Chris Smither left New Orleans in the mid-'60s for Boston, and quickly became part of a booming Cambridge folk scene that also included Bonnie Raitt, who went on to make his "Love (Me) Like a Man" a folk-blues standard. He eventually signed a deal with Poppy Records, which led to the release of I'm a Stranger Too! in 1970.

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