Biography
An English-American vocalist and composer, Lucy Woodward has pursued an eclectic path that has taken in pop, rock, jazz, soul, and big-band sounds. Early on she supplied backing vocals for established acts including Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, and Joe Cocker, yet her own solo work gained traction only after she moved away from mainstream pop toward vintage jazz and soul on the 2008 release …Is Hot and Bothered and its 2010 successor, Hooked!. Beyond her personal recordings she has placed original material in such films as The Blind Side, Ice Princess, and Music & Lyrics while also appearing with the varied groups Pink Martini and Snarky Puppy. In 2019 she issued the blues-oriented Music! Music! Music! alongside noted jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter.
Born in England and raised in both Amsterdam and New York, Woodward entered professional music as a session singer during her late teens. Daughter of a composer and an opera singer, she received early training on piano and flute before focusing on voice studies at fourteen; that preparation led to her Atlantic debut While You Can in 2003. Two jazz- and soul-inflected projects followed: …Is Hot and Bothered in 2008 and, on Verve, Hooked! in 2010. The latter featured production by Tony Visconti and yielded the singles “Slow Recovery” and “Ragdoll.” During this period she also stepped in as temporary lead vocalist for Pink Martini while China Forbes recuperated from vocal surgery. In 2012 Woodward recorded a version of Nina Simone’s “Be My Husband” backed by the jazz-funk-fusion ensemble Snarky Puppy. Her next studio album, Til They Bang on the Door, arrived in 2016 with co-production credits shared by Henry Hey and Snarky Puppy bassist Michael League.
For her subsequent endeavor she joined forces with virtuoso guitarist Charlie Hunter, enlisting drummer Derrek Phillips to create a compact, funk-driven set of classic blues and pop numbers. The resulting Music! Music! Music! appeared in 2019 and was promoted through extensive performances across the United States and Europe.
Born in England and raised in both Amsterdam and New York, Woodward entered professional music as a session singer during her late teens. Daughter of a composer and an opera singer, she received early training on piano and flute before focusing on voice studies at fourteen; that preparation led to her Atlantic debut While You Can in 2003. Two jazz- and soul-inflected projects followed: …Is Hot and Bothered in 2008 and, on Verve, Hooked! in 2010. The latter featured production by Tony Visconti and yielded the singles “Slow Recovery” and “Ragdoll.” During this period she also stepped in as temporary lead vocalist for Pink Martini while China Forbes recuperated from vocal surgery. In 2012 Woodward recorded a version of Nina Simone’s “Be My Husband” backed by the jazz-funk-fusion ensemble Snarky Puppy. Her next studio album, Til They Bang on the Door, arrived in 2016 with co-production credits shared by Henry Hey and Snarky Puppy bassist Michael League.
For her subsequent endeavor she joined forces with virtuoso guitarist Charlie Hunter, enlisting drummer Derrek Phillips to create a compact, funk-driven set of classic blues and pop numbers. The resulting Music! Music! Music! appeared in 2019 and was promoted through extensive performances across the United States and Europe.
Albums
Lucy Woodward & The Rocketeers
2024
I'm a Stranger Here
2021
Til They Bang on the Door
2016
Hooked!
2010
While You Can
2003
Singles
