Etta Britt (Melissa Prewitt, born

Lancaster, Kentucky Lancaster is a home rule-class city in Garrard County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. As of the year 2020 U.S. census, the city population was 3,901. Located south of Lexington, Lancaster is the site of the Ke ...

) is a

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

-based R&B,

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

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 ...

vocalist. Successful and sought after in the role of supporting artist, in 2012, Britt was approached by songwriter Sandy Knox (

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

) and music industry executive, Katie Gillon, to be the first artist to sign with Wrinkled Records as a featured artist.

Early life

The Prewitt family (Arthor, Amanda and Melissa's seven siblings), moved from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

when Melissa was in the second grade, Melissa was raised in Louisville and attended

Fern Creek High School Fern Creek High School is a communications, JROTC, and a media and arts school in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of Jefferson County Public Schools. Founded in 1923, it was the first high school in the Jefferson County (Ke ...

. While away at sixth grade camp, Melissa won the talent competition, marking the point in her life when she knew she wanted to perform. Pet-named Etta by her sister, who in return, is pet-named Myrna, the origin of these names is obscured or forgotten. Melissa started singing in the fourth grade, her sister, a cousin, and a friend sang in a gospel quartet and performed for local church-groups. As a young girl singing along with

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

, Melissa aspired to be more like Mary Wilson rather than

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

because she loved singing harmonies.

Career

Melissa (at the time credited as Melissa Dean), approached Dave Rowland (of

Dave & Sugar Dave & Sugar was a pop-styled American country music trio which enjoyed its peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. The trio consisted of lead singer Dave Rowland and initially on backing vocals, Vicki Hackeman and Jackie Frantz. Over time, the ...

) for an audition with the band and replaced the departing Vicki Hackeman in January 1979. During Melissa's tenure with Dave & Sugar (1979 to 1984), the band toured with headline acts that included:

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

Dottie West Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh; October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had several credits as an actress. A distinguished figure in the country genre, West was among several people ...

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

, Gallagher and

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

. Melissa is credited on four Dave & Sugar albums including the ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' Country Singles #1 hit, "Golden Tears". Additional trips to the Top 10, Country Singles chart, include: "My World Begins And Ends With You" #4, "Stay With Me" #6 and "Why Did You Have To Be So Good" #4. The group had continued success with eight additional Country Singles chart hits from 1980 through 1982. In 1984, Melissa was residing in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and married to studio guitarist Bob Britt, the couple soon had two daughters to support. No longer with the defunct Dave & Sugar trio, Melissa (Britt) took work waiting tables and cleaning houses while securing her real estate credentials, she also explored songwriting and singing as much as circumstances would permit. Bob Britt's reputation as a guitarist was growing, credited on

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

's, ''Solid State'' (1984), he toured with

The Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

and

Wynonna Judd Wynonna Ellen Judd, known simply as Wynonna ( ; born Christina Claire Ciminella; May 30, 1964), is an American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country musicians in history. She has had 19 No. 1 s ...

, ensuing credits 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 ...

's,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning, '' Time Out of Mind'' (1997). According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, the early credit for the Etta Britt

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

is on Paul Metsa's, ''Whistling Past the Graveyard'' (1993). At some point, Melissa's sister had called the studio, asking to speak with Etta, Bob wrote the name "Etta Britt" on a track-sheet and the name combination later became Melissa's stage-name. Never giving up on her singing career, Britt had developed a soulful blues style as a soloist, slightly outside of the

, country music, genre. Etta's talent had been noted by Sandy Knox while working on Knox', ''Pushin' 40, Never Married, No Kids'' (2000); in 2012, the two had a chance encounter at a writers-night event. Knox, a songwriter with Grammy Award nominated works, heard Etta's compositions during her stage performance earlier that evening and invited her to lunch. Britt had prepared for the lunch, which also included music industry veteran Katie Gillon, with the expectation of discussing a deal on a song, not a recording contract. Britt's record deal, signed at age 53, and a well received freshman album, ''Out of the Shadows'' (2012), hitting the ''Living Blues Magazine'''s chart at #20, attracted the attention of

Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her Children's television series, children's franc ...

at the ''Huffington Post'' who writes: "This story is about a woman who sacrificed the spotlight to help her family survive, and has been given the chance to take center stage with her very own record deal more than 20 years later!" The

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

''Today Show'' ran a feature story on August 25, 2012, covering highlights of the ''Huffington Post'' article, "Out Of The Shadows - Mom Signs Record Deal At 55", and includes video from an opening performance for

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, h ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

's New York on July 27, 2012. In 2013, Britt is a featured artist on

B. J. Thomas Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his country, contemporary Christian, and pop hits of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Popular songs by Thomas include " Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), " Rain ...

', ''The Living Room Sessions'', singing a duet with Thomas on an unplugged arrangement of " New Looks from an Old Lover". In Nov 2019, Britt played guitar with Bob Dylan's touring band.

Solo albums

''Out of the Shadows'' (2012 LP)

Source:

Reception

Discography

* Etta Britt is also published under the names, Melissa Dean and Melissa Britt.

Awards

, +

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

, - , 1979 ,

, Vocal Group of the Year , , Dave Rowland, Sue Powell, Etta Britt

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Britt, Etta Living people Singer-songwriters from Kentucky Singers from Louisville, Kentucky American blues singers American rhythm and blues singers American gospel singers American women singer-songwriters People from Lancaster, Kentucky Blues musicians from Kentucky Fern Creek High School alumni Women musicians from Kentucky 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)