Biography
Lou Ann Barton, a singer based in Austin, Texas, ranks among the strongest interpreters of intense, soulful roadhouse blues, jump blues, and R&B, even though her output in touring and recording falls well below what might be expected. Her voice projects such force and command that it rises above the volume of a two-guitar ensemble backed by horns and drums. Across four decades she has shared stages and studios with an array of leading American blues figures, among them Marcia Ball, W.C. Clark, Angela Strehli, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Sue Foley, Omar Kent Dykes, and Roomful of Blues. Although her catalog remains modest, every release has drawn strong approval from blues listeners, with early titles such as 1982’s Old Enough and 1986’s Forbidden Tones now regarded as genuine collector’s items. Her most recent appearance on disc came as a billed guest on Jimmie Vaughan’s Plays More Blues, Ballads & Favorites in 2011, yet she stays busy on the Texas club circuit.
Born February 17, 1954, in Fort Worth, Barton has logged thousands of dancehall and nightclub engagements throughout Texas and across the United States. She relocated to Austin in the mid-1970s and joined Stevie Ray Vaughan and W.C. Clark in the Triple Threat Revue. After Clark’s departure in 1978, Vaughan retitled the group Double Trouble, and Barton stayed until November 1979; an unofficial recording from the Austin Festival captures her vocals alongside Vaughan. In 1980 she moved briefly to Rhode Island to sing with Roomful of Blues alongside Greg Piccolo and Ronnie Earle, though no recordings resulted. She soon secured a solo deal with David Geffen’s Asylum Records and issued Old Enough in 1982. Produced by Jerry Wexler and Glenn Frey, the album featured the Muscle Shoals Horns, Barry Beckett, Jimmie Vaughan, and additional session luminaries. Shortly afterward she began appearing regularly with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Despite favorable reviews, Old Enough sold poorly owing to limited label support. Barton continued headlining and collaborating yet did not record again until releasing Forbidden Tones on Spindletop in 1986. Self-produced and captured live in the studio, the set included drummer Jerry Marotta and guitarists Jimmie Vaughan, David Grissom, David Mansfield, Dean Parks, and Richie Zito. She promoted the album on the national blues-club circuit.
Returning to the studio in 1989, Barton contributed to Marcia Ball’s Gatorhythms on Rounder and issued her own Read My Lips on the newly formed Antone’s label. That release showcased saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman, pianist Mel Brown, guitarist Derek O’Brien, and organist Reese Wynans. Critics praised her renditions of R&B, jump-blues, and early rock-and-roll material by Little Richard, Naomi Neville, Hank Ballard, and others. The following year she joined Ball and Angela Strehli for the widely admired Dreams Come True on Antone’s and performed “Don’t Slander Me” on the Sire various-artists tribute Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson, which also included Julian Cope, Richard Lloyd, Doug Sahm, and T-Bone Burnett. Barton toured the United States and Europe with Strehli and Ball to sold-out crowds and enthusiastic notices.
In 1992 she appeared on Alejandro Escovedo’s debut solo album Gravity, and Antone’s reissued Old Enough. A year later she participated in sessions for Stephen Bruton’s debut What It Is. In 1994 she sang on Jimmie Vaughan’s Epic release Strange Pleasure, and in 1995 she recorded with Roky Erickson on All That May Do My Rhyme. Session work and live performances kept her occupied; she contributed to Nuno Mindelis’ Texas Bound (with Double Trouble’s Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton) and to Vaughan’s Do You Get the Blues? in 2001. Apart from a pair of guest spots on a Jimmy Reed tribute, Barton remained absent from recording until 2007, when she sang on Vaughan and Dykes’ On the Jimmy Reed Highway. Renewed activity followed with further studio and road work alongside Dykes, plus appearances on Vaughan’s Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites and Johnny Moeller’s BlooGaLoo! in 2010. She received co-billing on Vaughan’s Plays More Blues, Ballads & Favorites in 2011—despite singing on only two tracks—and the sessions reunited her with former Roomful of Blues colleague Piccolo on saxophone. Barton performs only when she chooses. Full appreciation requires seeing her live, where her assured stage presence combines energy with grace and poise. Recognized worldwide within the lineage of female blues vocalists, she could work constantly if she wished; countless artists globally would eagerly record or share stages with her.
Born February 17, 1954, in Fort Worth, Barton has logged thousands of dancehall and nightclub engagements throughout Texas and across the United States. She relocated to Austin in the mid-1970s and joined Stevie Ray Vaughan and W.C. Clark in the Triple Threat Revue. After Clark’s departure in 1978, Vaughan retitled the group Double Trouble, and Barton stayed until November 1979; an unofficial recording from the Austin Festival captures her vocals alongside Vaughan. In 1980 she moved briefly to Rhode Island to sing with Roomful of Blues alongside Greg Piccolo and Ronnie Earle, though no recordings resulted. She soon secured a solo deal with David Geffen’s Asylum Records and issued Old Enough in 1982. Produced by Jerry Wexler and Glenn Frey, the album featured the Muscle Shoals Horns, Barry Beckett, Jimmie Vaughan, and additional session luminaries. Shortly afterward she began appearing regularly with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Despite favorable reviews, Old Enough sold poorly owing to limited label support. Barton continued headlining and collaborating yet did not record again until releasing Forbidden Tones on Spindletop in 1986. Self-produced and captured live in the studio, the set included drummer Jerry Marotta and guitarists Jimmie Vaughan, David Grissom, David Mansfield, Dean Parks, and Richie Zito. She promoted the album on the national blues-club circuit.
Returning to the studio in 1989, Barton contributed to Marcia Ball’s Gatorhythms on Rounder and issued her own Read My Lips on the newly formed Antone’s label. That release showcased saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman, pianist Mel Brown, guitarist Derek O’Brien, and organist Reese Wynans. Critics praised her renditions of R&B, jump-blues, and early rock-and-roll material by Little Richard, Naomi Neville, Hank Ballard, and others. The following year she joined Ball and Angela Strehli for the widely admired Dreams Come True on Antone’s and performed “Don’t Slander Me” on the Sire various-artists tribute Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson, which also included Julian Cope, Richard Lloyd, Doug Sahm, and T-Bone Burnett. Barton toured the United States and Europe with Strehli and Ball to sold-out crowds and enthusiastic notices.
In 1992 she appeared on Alejandro Escovedo’s debut solo album Gravity, and Antone’s reissued Old Enough. A year later she participated in sessions for Stephen Bruton’s debut What It Is. In 1994 she sang on Jimmie Vaughan’s Epic release Strange Pleasure, and in 1995 she recorded with Roky Erickson on All That May Do My Rhyme. Session work and live performances kept her occupied; she contributed to Nuno Mindelis’ Texas Bound (with Double Trouble’s Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton) and to Vaughan’s Do You Get the Blues? in 2001. Apart from a pair of guest spots on a Jimmy Reed tribute, Barton remained absent from recording until 2007, when she sang on Vaughan and Dykes’ On the Jimmy Reed Highway. Renewed activity followed with further studio and road work alongside Dykes, plus appearances on Vaughan’s Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites and Johnny Moeller’s BlooGaLoo! in 2010. She received co-billing on Vaughan’s Plays More Blues, Ballads & Favorites in 2011—despite singing on only two tracks—and the sessions reunited her with former Roomful of Blues colleague Piccolo on saxophone. Barton performs only when she chooses. Full appreciation requires seeing her live, where her assured stage presence combines energy with grace and poise. Recognized worldwide within the lineage of female blues vocalists, she could work constantly if she wished; countless artists globally would eagerly record or share stages with her.
Albums
