Marcia Ball (born March 20, 1949) 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 and pianist raised in Vinton, Louisiana. Ball was described in ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist... where Texas stomp-rock and Louisiana blues-swamp meet."Gundersen, Edna
USA Today
February 5, 2006. The ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' described her music as "an irresistible celebratory blend of rollicking, two-fisted New Orleans piano, Louisiana swamp rock and smoldering Texas blues from a contemporary storyteller."

Early life and education

Ball was born in

Orange, Texas Orange is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. The population was 19,324 at the 2020 census. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houston. ...

, into a musical family. Her grandmother and aunt both played piano music of their time and Ball started piano lessons when she started school, and showed an early interest in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

style piano playing, as exemplified by

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

Professor Longhair Henry Roeland Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday o ...

, and

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was an American New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist and singer. Flamboyant in personality and style, and a pianist of extraordinary technical skill, he was dubbed "the Blac ...

. She has named Irma Thomas, the

vocalist, as her chief vocal inspiration. Ball studied English at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in the 1960s while playing in a band called Gum. In 1970, at age 21, she started a progressive country band called Freda and the Firedogs in

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 ...

, and began her solo career in 1974.

Career

She began her recording career as a solo artist with

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 2001, she joined the Chicago-based Alligator Records. Her Rounder album, ''Sing It!'', which featured vocalists Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson, released in January 1998 was nominated for a

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 ...

and a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

for "Best Contemporary Blues Album." Ball received the 1998 Blues Music Award for "Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year" and "Best Blues Instrumentalist-Keyboards." She was awarded "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" for her albums '' Presumed Innocent'' (2002) and '' So Many Rivers'' (2004). The same year she also won "Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year-Female." She won the "Best Blues Instrumentalist-Keyboards" again in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. The BMA for Keyboards has since been renamed the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player Award and Ball has won it in 2012 and 2015. Her 2003 Alligator release, ''So Many Rivers'', was nominated for a Grammy as were ''Live! Down The Road'' (2005) and '' Peace, Love & BBQ'' (2008). She was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 2018. Ball has continued to work with Irma Thomas. In 2006, the two contributed a duet ("Look Up") on the New Orleans Social Club release, ''Sing Me Back Home'' ( Burgundy Records/Honey Darling Records). In 2007, the two contributed another duet ("I Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind") to '' Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'' (

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

). She continues to play at nightclubs, particularly in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

and

, and performs at music festivals in North America and overseas. In May 2015, Ball won the 'Pinetop Perkins Piano Player' award at the Blues Music Awards ceremony. She won the same award in 2019. On October 25, 2018, Ball was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, where she first appeared during their inaugural season in 1976.

Musical style

Ball's piano style includes elements of zydeco, swamp blues, Louisiana blues, and

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

.Biography
, Blues.about.com; accessed March 19, 2015.

Discography

Solo or principal artist

*1972: ''Freda and the Firedogs'' *1978: ''Circuit Queen'' ( Capitol) *1984: '' Soulful Dress'' (Rounder) *1985: '' Hot Tamale Baby'' (Rounder) *1989: '' Gatorhythms'' (Rounder) *1990: ''Dreams Come True'' ( Antone's) (with Lou Ann Barton and Angela Strehli) *1994: ''

Blue House Cheong Wa Dae (), also known as the Blue House in English, is a public park that was the former Office of the President of South Korea, executive office and residence of the president of South Korea. Located in Seoul's Jongno District, directl ...

'' (Rounder) *1997: '' Let Me Play With Your Poodle'' (Rounder) *1998: ''Sing It!'' (Rounder) (with Tracy Nelson and Irma Thomas) *2001: '' Presumed Innocent'' ( Alligator Records) *2003: '' So Many Rivers'' (Alligator) *2004: ''Live at Waterloo Records'' (Alligator) *2005: ''Live! Down The Road'' (Alligator) *2007: ''JazzFest Live'' (MunckMusic\Munck) *2008: '' Peace, Love & BBQ'' (Alligator) *2011: ''Roadside Attractions'' (Alligator) *2014: ''The Tattooed Lady & The Alligator Man'' (Alligator) *2018: ''Shine Bright'' (Alligator)

Other contributions

* 2000 Don Wise: ''In the verge of survival'', with

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 ...

*2003: ''Patchwork: A Tribute to James Booker'' (STR Digital Records) *2006: ''Sing Me Back Home'' New Orleans Social Club ( Burgundy Records/Honey Darling Records) Duet with Irma Thomas, "Look Up". *2007: '' Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'' (

) Duet with Irma Thomas, "I Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind". *2009: '' Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women'' (

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne ...

) With Dave Alvin. Member of "The Guilty Women" band.

Filmography

*2003: '' The Blues'', episode ''Piano Blues'' directed by ''

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

'' *2006: '' New Orleans Music in Exile''

Festival appearances

* San Francisco Blues Festival – 1984 * Austin Aqua Fest – 1986 * Long Beach Blues Festival – 1996 *Rhythm And Roots Festival (

Charlestown, Rhode Island Charlestown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 7,997 at the 2020 census. History Charlestown is named after King Charles II, and was incorporated in 1738. The area was formerly part of the town ...

) – 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 * Thursday at the Square – 2002 *

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jazz ...

– 2002 * Austin City Limits Music Festival – 2004 *

National Folk Festival (USA) The National Folk Festival (NFF) is an itinerant folk festival in the United States. Since 1934, it has been run by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) and has been presented in 26 communities around the nation. After leaving so ...

– 2005 *

Waterfront Blues Festival The Waterfront Blues Festival is an annual event in Portland, Oregon, United States, featuring four days of performances by blues musicians. The festival started in 1988 and takes place in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, along the west bank of the W ...

(Portland, Oregon) – 2007 * New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival – 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2025 * Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (Helena, Arkansas) – 2010 *Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival (New Orleans, Louisiana) – 2011 *

Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the Chicago, Illinois, City of Chicago Department of Cu ...

– 2013 *Edmonton Blues Festival - 2018

References

External links

Official Marcia Ball website
*
Marcia Ball at Facebook

* Le Show interview: {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Marcia 1949 births Living people People from Vinton, Louisiana Louisiana blues musicians Singers from Louisiana American blues singers American blues pianists Swamp blues musicians 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists Musicians from Austin, Texas Alligator Records artists 20th-century American singers