During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Katie Webster stood out as a forceful piano presence within the swamp blues environment of Southern Louisiana, only later earning wider national attention through a run of strong Alligator releases.
Deeply devout parents made repeated efforts to block their daughter Kathryn Thorne from performing R&B, yet the driving styles of Fats Domino and Little Richard proved impossible to resist. Local guitarist Ashton Savoy became her mentor and helped launch her first single, the 1958 Kry release “Baby Baby.”
Webster soon turned into a key session player for Louisiana producers J.D. Miller in Crowley and Eddie Shuler in Lake Charles, contributing to recordings by Guitar Junior (Lonnie Brooks), Clarence Garlow, Jimmy Wilson, Lazy Lester, and Phil Phillips, whose hit “Sea of Love” featured her characteristically fluid piano work.
Between 1959 and 1961 she also cut strong solo material for Miller’s Rocko, Action, and Spot imprints, including the track that introduced the dance “The Katie Lee.” At the same time she fronted her own group, the Uptighters, while maintaining a heavy studio schedule. In 1964 she sat in with Otis Redding’s band at the Bamboo Club in Lake Charles; the charismatic singer was sufficiently impressed that he took her along as his opening act for the following three years.
The 1970s largely passed without major activity as Katie Webster remained in Oakland, California, caring for her ailing parents. A European tour in 1982 drew her back on the road and initiated repeated overseas engagements. Her association with Alligator began in 1988 when Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, and Kim Wilson all appeared on The Swamp Boogie Queen. The outgoing boogie pianist followed with Two-Fisted Mama! and No Foolin’ before experiencing a stroke. She died on September 5, 1999, at the age of 63.
