Katie Webster (January 11, 1936 – September 5, 1999), born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pia ...

pianist.

Career

Webster was initially best known as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

behind

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

musicians on the Excello and Goldband record labels, such as Lightnin' Slim and Lonesome Sundown. She also played piano with

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...

in the 1960s, but after his death went into semi-retirement. In the 1980s she was repeatedly booked for European tours and recorded albums for the German record label,

Ornament Records Ornament Records is a German record label set up in 1972 by Siegfried A. "Ziggy" Christmann. It initially specialised in issuing live recordings of blues artists who were touring Germany. Soon the label started releasing jazz and German (especial ...

, with Gary Wiggins and Chris Rannenberg - ''The International Blues Duo''. She cut ''You Know That's Right'' with the band Hot Links, and the album that established her in the United States; ''The Swamp Boogie Queen'' with guest spots by

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporate ...

and Robert Cray. ''

Two-Fisted Mama! ''Two-Fisted Mama!'' is an album by the American musician Katie Webster, released in 1989. Webster promoted the album with a North American tour. The album was nominated for a Bammy Award, in the "Blues Album" category. Production The album was p ...

'' was released in 1989. She performed at both the San Francisco Blues Festival and Long Beach Blues Festival. Webster suffered a stroke in 1993 while touring Greece but returned to performing the following year. She died from heart failure in League City, Texas, in September 1999.

References

External links

*
Biography at Alligator.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Katie 1936 births 1999 deaths American blues singers American blues pianists American blues drummers Boogie-woogie pianists Musicians from Houston Blues musicians from New Orleans Swamp blues musicians Louisiana blues musicians 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists Singers from Louisiana 20th-century American women singers Singers from Texas Alligator Records artists 20th-century American singers

Career

See also

References

External links