Biography
Blues vocalist Duffy Bishop accumulated an extensive collection of honors beginning with five straight Muddy Awards for Best Female Vocalist starting in 1995 and adding another in 2001. In 1997 the Cascade Blues Association inducted her into its Hall of Fame. The Northwest Area Music Association named her Best Female Vocalist in 1989 and 1990, then named her Entertainer of the Year in 1991. The Washington Blues Society gave her its Best Female Vocalist award in 1992 and again in 1999 while also selecting her as Entertainer of the Year in 1993 and 1995. Her group the Duffy Bishop Band received Muddy Awards for Best Regional Blues Act in 1994 and Best Contemporary Blues Act in 1996. Those achievements trace back to a childhood that began at age four when she sang original songs from the picture window of her family home. School stage productions replaced the makeshift setting and continued through high school graduation. At sixteen she began performing with local ensembles and spent three years in her first band Roadside Attraction before moving through Toulouse Lautrec Coda and Skeezix. Later bills placed her in support of Roy Orbison John Lee Hooker Lou Rawls Chicago and Etta James. She 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 polyps and a cyst she recovered and toured Japan with Big Brother & the Holding Company. Costume design has remained a parallel pursuit with contributions to the Brass Ring Theater Skid Row Theater and Pasadena’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts where she worked for roughly four years. Theater credits also include productions in San Francisco and Seattle. Her current lineup features keyboardist Dover Weinberg bassist Phil Haxton drummer Michael Partlow and guitarist Chris Carlson.
Albums