Duffy Bishop

Blues vocalist Duffy Bishop accumulated an extensive roster of honors stretching across multiple decades, such as five straight Muddy Awards for Best Female Vocalist that began in 1995 and resumed with another win in 2001. Induction into the Cascade Blues Association’s Hall of Fame arrived in 1997. The Northwest Area Music Association twice named her Best Female Vocalist, first in 1989 and again in 1990, then selected her as Entertainer of the Year the following year. In 1992 the Washington Blues Society conferred its Best Female Vocalist title upon her, repeating that distinction in 1999, while also declaring her Entertainer of the Year in both 1993 and 1995. The Duffy Bishop Band captured a Muddy Award for Best Regional Blues Act in 1994 and added another for Best Contemporary Blues Act two years afterward. Such recognition marked an impressive trajectory for an artist whose earliest performances occurred at age four, when she sang original songs from the imaginary platform of her family’s picture window. School years brought opportunities to perform in classroom productions that continued through graduation. At sixteen she began appearing with area ensembles and spent three years in her initial group, Roadside Attraction, before moving through the lineups of Toulouse, Lautrec, Coda, and Skeezix. Larger stages later placed her in support slots for Roy Orbison, John Lee Hooker, Lou Rawls, Chicago, and Etta James. Bishop joined Cool Ray & the Shades in 1983, then sang with the Rhythm Dogs on the albums Dogs Run Cheap and On a Journey. After treatment for vocal polyps and a cyst, she regained her voice and toured Japan alongside Big Brother & the Holding Company. Beyond performing, she maintained an active role in costume design, supplying work for the Brass Ring Theater, Skid Row Theater, and Pasadena’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts for roughly four years. She also took part in theatrical productions mounted in San Francisco and Seattle. Her current band features keyboardist Dover Weinberg, bassist Phil Haxton, drummer Michael Partlow, and guitarist Chris Carlson.