Barbara Lynn

During her prime, Barbara Lynn distinguished herself as an uncommon figure among singer-guitarists. Few women performed as instrumentalists in that era, and she ranked among the earliest to reach the charts; moreover, she executed her parts left-handed with impressive facility while contributing several compositions of her own. Her recordings frequently blended blues elements with Southern R&B, and the sessions she completed in New Orleans—among them the chart-topping R&B single “You’ll Lose a Good Thing”—carried the unmistakable sonic character of the Crescent City.

Born Barbara Lynn Ozen in Beaumont, Texas, on January 16, 1942, she began on piano before turning to guitar under the influence of Elvis Presley. While still in junior high she assembled the group Bobbie Lynn and the Idols, drawing inspiration from both blues artists such as Guitar Slim and Jimmy Reed and pop vocalists like Brenda Lee and Connie Francis. After prevailing in talent contests and performing at teen dances, the underage musician began appearing in local clubs and juke joints, aware that discovery could jeopardize her schooling. Joe Barry witnessed one of these performances and urged his associate, producer and impresario Huey P. Meaux—known as the Crazy Cajun—to hear her.

Meaux secured her parents’ permission and escorted Lynn to New Orleans, where she recorded at the renowned Cosimo studio. Several singles appeared on the Jamie label under an arrangement stipulating that any lack of success would steer her toward college rather than an immediate music career. In 1962 the self-written ballad “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” broke nationally, climbing into the pop Top Ten and reaching number one on the R&B survey. The same year saw release of her debut album of that title, which contained ten original compositions among its twelve tracks. She remained with Jamie through 1965, delivering additional R&B successes including “You’re Gonna Need Me” and “Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin’),” the latter later interpreted by the Rolling Stones in 1965.

Switching to Meaux’s Tribe imprint in 1966, Lynn recorded “You Left the Water Running,” which evolved into an R&B standard subsequently covered by Otis Redding. She joined Atlantic in 1967 and scored another R&B hit with “This Is the Thanks I Get” early the next year; the album Here Is Barbara Lynn also appeared in 1968. Her final Atlantic success arrived in 1972 with “(Until Then) I’ll Suffer.” By then she had children to raise, and dissatisfaction with promotional support prompted her effective withdrawal from the industry for most of the 1970s and 1980s, aside from sporadic low-profile engagements.

Lynn reentered performing in the mid-1980s, making her initial visit to Japan in 1984. A live recording from that tour, You Don’t Have to Go, eventually reached American listeners via Ichiban. Retaining a devoted following among admirers of American soul and blues across various regions, she undertook international dates in the early 1990s. Bullseye Blues issued her first complete studio album in more than twenty years, So Good, in 1994, followed by Until Then I’ll Suffer in 1996. She subsequently recorded for the Antone’s label, releasing Hot Night Tonight in 2000, an album that included two rap features by her son Bachelor Wise.