Carolyn Wonderland (born Carolyn Bradford, November 9, 1972) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

singer-songwriter and musician. She is married to comedian and writer A. Whitney Brown.

Early life and education

Carolyn Wonderland was born Carolyn Bradford in 1972 in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas, United States. Wonderland dropped out of Houston's

Langham Creek High School Langham Creek High School is a high school located in an unincorporated area in Harris County, Texas, Harris County, Texas, United States, near Houston. Langham Creek, which was established in 1984, is part of the Cypress Fairbanks Independent S ...

to pursue her music ambitions.

Career

During the early 1990s, she toured with her own group, Carolyn Wonderland and the Imperial Monkeys. In 1999, Wonderland moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

; in 2001, she lost her apartment lease after her landlord became ill, and decided to live out of her van since she was spending more than 300 days a year on the road performing. Wonderland's instrumental abilities include guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, trumpet, and piano. Although primarily a blues artist, Wonderland likes to incorporate elements of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, swing,

zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...

, surf,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, and

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

into her musical mix. She usually performs with Cole El-Saleh on keyboards and Kevin Lance on drums. In February 2008, Wonderland released the CD ''Miss Understood'' on the Bismeaux Productions label, and the title song has been on the Top 50 of the 'Roots Music Report' chart since the album's release. Fans of Wonderland's music include

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

Ray Benson Ray Benson Seifert (born March 16, 1951) is an American musician, actor, and voice actor who is the frontman of the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel. Biography Benson was raised Jewish. In 1970, Benson, a native of Philadelphia, formed ...

, founder of

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...

. Benson produced ''Miss Understood'', and has been one of her songwriting collaborators. Wonderland credits several blues and Texas musicians as influences on her music. One notable influence is Austin singer-songwriter

Terri Hendrix Terri Ann Hendrix is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and independent artist who has been writing and performing an eclectic mix of Americana genre, encompassing folk, pop, country, blues, and jazz, since 1990. Since 1988 H ...

, as Wonderland covered two Hendrix songs ("I Found the Lions" and "Throw My Love") on ''Miss Understood''. Wonderland has been involved in a number of recordings, including several that were self-produced on independent labels. She was the lead singer fronting the band Imperial Monkeys. Wonderland released ''Bloodless Revolution'' in 2008, and is the primary singer on the Jerry Lightfoot's Band of Wonder ''Texistentialism'' CD with Lightfoot and Vince Welnick (

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

the Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...

). Wonderland was a founding member of the Loose Affiliation of Saints and Sinners (with

Papa Mali Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne (born May 6, 1957) is an American record producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, and lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. His debut recording ''T ...

, Eldridge Goins,

Guy Forsyth Guy Forsyth (born November 30, 1968) is an American blues rock singer and songwriter. He has toured in the U.S. and Europe and has been the opening act for Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Dr. John, B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughan, and Lucinda Williams. Fo ...

, and others), with several of her songs being featured on their ''Sessions from the Hotel San Jose Rm. 50'' CD. She was also the lead guitarist in the all-girl, southern rock band Sis DeVille (other members include Shelley King, Sarah Brown, Lisa Pankratz, and Floramay Holliday), and a founding member of the Austin Volunteer Orchestra. Wonderland appeared on

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

in 2008, and has had her music used on NBC's ''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'' and Fox's '' Time of Your Life''. She was a headlining artist at the annual

Rochester International Jazz Festival Established in 2002, the Rochester International Jazz Festival takes place in June of each year in Rochester, New York. It is owned and produced by RIJF, LLC, whose principals are John Nugent, Co-Producer and Artistic Director, and Marc Iacona, ...

summer 2009 at the Eastman Theatre and New York. In 2003, Wonderland opened the

Sturgis Motorcycle Rally The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a motorcycle rally held annually in Sturgis, South Dakota, and the surrounding Black Hills region of the United States. It began in 1938 by a group of Indian Motorcycle riders and was originally held for stunts ...

, after performing there for the previous ten years, singing the national anthem with The Imperial Monkeys. Wonderland also performs with the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers, raising money for local Austin charities, food banks, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and on behalf of the legalization of marijuana. Carolyn Wonderland 01

On April 6, 2018, Wonderland joined

John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...

as his only female lead guitarist in his 60+-year career until his death in 2024.

Personal life

Wonderland married writer-comedian A. Whitney Brown on March 4, 2011, in a ceremony officiated by

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their The Monkees (TV series), TV series of the same name (1966–1968) ...

Recognition

Wonderland has won the following awards: *Best Blues Band – 1996 Public News Music Awards *Best Rock/Pop Album of the Year ("Bursting With Flavor") and Local Musician of the Year and Best Female Vocalist – 1997

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

Music Awards *Local Musician of the Year & song of the Year ("Blue Lights") – 1998 Houston Press Music Awards *Best Blues Songwriter of the Year – 1999 Houston Press Music Awards *Gold Award – Flagstaff International Film Festival – Music Video Awards – Alan Ames & Assoc. "Party on Houston" featured artist Carolyn Wonderland *Best Female Vocalist – 2000 Houston Press Music Awards *Best Blues Band – 2009 Austin Music Awards *Best Female Vocalist – 2009 Austin Music Awards *Best Female Vocalist – 2012 Austin Music Awards

Discography

Albums

Collaborations

*''Drink the Rain'' (2001) (indie release) Rebecca Cole with Wonderland *''Texistentialism'' (2001) Noah's Sky Music (indie release) with Jerry Lightfoot's Band of Wonder featuring Vince Welnick *''Sessions From the Hotel San Jose, Rm. 50'' (2002) (Mix-O-Rama) with A Loose Affiliation of Saints and Sinners *''Fireside Songs For the Soul'' (2010) (licensed by Bismeaux) Wonderland and

*''

Nobody Told Me "Nobody Told Me" is a song by John Lennon. The B-side features Yoko Ono's "O' Sanity"; both are on the ''Milk and Honey'' album. The promo video for the single was made up of clips of footage from Lennon's other videos, as are most posthumous L ...

'' (2019) (Forty Below)

*''The Sun Is Shining Down'' (2022) (Forty Below) John Mayall

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonderland, Carolyn 1972 births Living people 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American women singers American blues guitarists American blues singers American blues singer-songwriters American expatriates in England American women singer-songwriters Guitarists from Texas Singers from Austin, Texas Singers from Houston Singer-songwriters from Texas