Regina B. Higginbotham (born January 22, 1958) known professionally as Teeny Tucker is an American

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

and new blues singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of the late blues musician Tommy Tucker.

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 ...

noted that "Teeny Tucker is among a growing number of female blues belters taking different paths to stardom or wider recognition, but she's one of the very best..." She has released six albums to date. She has variously appeared on the same bill with

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 ...

, Koko Taylor,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

the Holmes Brothers The Holmes Brothers were an American musical trio (music), trio originally from Christchurch, Virginia. Mixing sounds from blues, Soul music, soul, Gospel music, gospel, Country music, country, and rhythm & blues, they have released twelve stud ...

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at ...

Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that tra ...

, Deanna Bogart,

Kenny Neal Kenny Neal (born October 14, 1957), is an American blues guitar player, singing, singer, and band member. Neal was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Raful Neal, and he comes from a musical family. He has often performed with his broth ...

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist, and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades, ending in 2023. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter ...

, and

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 ...

Life and career

Teeny Tucker was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, United States. She sang in her local church choir. Her father, a blues performer best known for his 1964 hit song, "

Hi-Heel Sneakers "Hi-Heel Sneakers" (often also spelled "High Heel Sneakers") is a blues song written and recorded by Tommy Tucker in 1963. Blues writer Mary Katherine Aldin describes it as an uptempo twelve-bar blues, with "a spare, lilting musical framework", ...

," died tragically at the age of 42 in January 1982, on his daughter's 24th birthday. Tucker first performed professionally in November 1996. Her debut album, ''Tommy's Girl,'' was issued in 2000. She composed eight of the 11 tracks on her 2003 album, ''First Class Woman,'' which had airplay on

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable ...

Music Choice Music Choice (abbreviated as MC) is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. In 2019, it reached 65 million household ...

and various other blues radio stations across the United States. Tucker has twice been a top three finalist in the

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, ...

. In 2008, Tucker performed at the Monterey Bay Blues Festival. ''Two Big M's'' (2008) peaked at number six on the ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' chart, and was nominated for the best self-produced CD by the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs t ...

. ''Keep the Blues Alive'' (2010) contained more of Tucker's own compositions. In 2009 and 2011, Tucker performed at the Briggs Farm Blues Festival. In 2010, Tucker, now officially named Regina B. Westbrook, was residing in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. In February 2011, Tucker was selected as the 2011 Federal Carter G. Woodson Award winner. In September 2011, Tucker sang at the Blast Furnace Blues Festival. At the 2014

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, " ...

s, Diunna Greenleaf won the Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female), beating fellow nominees Tucker,

Lavelle White Lillia Lavell "Lavelle" White (born July 3, 1929) is an American Texas blues and soul blues singer and songwriter. After performing most of her adult lifetime, White released three albums, the first of which was issued in 1994, when she was aged ...

Trudy Lynn Trudy Lynn (born August 9, 1947) is an American electric blues and soul blues singer and songwriter, whose recorded work has been released on twelve studio albums, one live album, and four compilation albums. The Allmusic journalist, Alex Hen ...

, and

Zora Young Zora Young (born January 21, 1948, West Point, Mississippi, United States) is an American blues singer. She is distantly related to Howlin' Wolf. Young's family moved to Chicago when she was seven. She began singing gospel music at the Greater ...

. Tucker also performed live at the event. In February that year, Tucker gave a talk on "Women In The Blues," part of the Penn State Forum Speaker Series at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. In August 2015, Tucker performed at the Riverside Bluesfest in

St. Marys, Ohio St. Marys is a city in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. Located in western Ohio, it is west of Wapakoneta and east of the Ohio–Indiana border. Founded in 1823, the city is located on a portage between the St. Marys and Auglaize rive ...

Awards and nominations

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

2010 Blues Artist of the Year. *2012 and 2014

"Koko Taylor Award" nominee. *2008, 2011 and 2013 ''Blues Blast'' "Artist of the Year" nominee. *2014 ''

'' magazine "Artist of the Year" nominee.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Official websiteVideo @ Billboard.com of Tucker performing "Keep the Blues Alive"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Teeny 1958 births Living people 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers American blues singers 20th-century African-American women singers Musicians from Dayton, Ohio Songwriters from Ohio Electric blues musicians 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American women