You may not know the name Bette Stuy just yet. But you will.
Bette Stuy was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in the New York borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known as Bed-Stuy; thus the name "Bette Stuy". It's a way of never forgetting where you came from. It's been a long and winding road to get to where she is. In 2012, Bette was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame, so she's come a long way. And there's a long way yet to go. Bette is billed as the Queen of Neo-Blues. Neo-Blues, like Neo-Soul or Neo-Swing, is simply the next generation of Blues; Blues music that is combined with the other sounds and styles that surround us...Soul, Funk, Gospel, Jazz, even a little Rock n Roll. The music that comes out of someone is usually a mix of the music that went in--and its best to let that music be what it is, rather than try to change it to fit a narrow description. So, if that music is a mix of influences--say Sippie Wallace and Gladys Knight.....Neo-Blues.
Bette's new Christmas song, "Be Like Santa", is a good example of the mix of influences. It's not a gritty Blues number (though she excels at gritty Blues). It's an upbeat and sunny Pop Soul number with a positive message. But you can hear a bit of Blues, a hint of Gospel and, actually, a good deal of Soca influence in the song.
There's a truism in the music business--there's no such thing as an overnight success. Ask anyone who seems to have achieved overnight success and they'll tell you about the years of hard work it took to get there. But the Blues world, well, you generally have to work ten times harder and longer to become even half as well known. Blues artists can't count on a hit single or a TV appearance to get the cash registers ringing. Blues artists rely--have to rely--on live performances in small clubs across the country...night after night after night--just to pay the bills. B.B. King, as famous and, yes, financially set as he was, was still playing 200 shows a year well into his 70s. When he was younger, it was over 300 shows a year. Koko Taylor did the same; when she finished one gig, the band would get on the bus, driven by her husband Robert "Pops" Taylor (a gifted guitar player himself), and drive to the next town. The Blues is hard work. It's also great music.
Bette Stuy was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in the New York borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known as Bed-Stuy; thus the name "Bette Stuy". It's a way of never forgetting where you came from. It's been a long and winding road to get to where she is. In 2012, Bette was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame, so she's come a long way. And there's a long way yet to go. Bette is billed as the Queen of Neo-Blues. Neo-Blues, like Neo-Soul or Neo-Swing, is simply the next generation of Blues; Blues music that is combined with the other sounds and styles that surround us...Soul, Funk, Gospel, Jazz, even a little Rock n Roll. The music that comes out of someone is usually a mix of the music that went in--and its best to let that music be what it is, rather than try to change it to fit a narrow description. So, if that music is a mix of influences--say Sippie Wallace and Gladys Knight.....Neo-Blues.
Bette's new Christmas song, "Be Like Santa", is a good example of the mix of influences. It's not a gritty Blues number (though she excels at gritty Blues). It's an upbeat and sunny Pop Soul number with a positive message. But you can hear a bit of Blues, a hint of Gospel and, actually, a good deal of Soca influence in the song.
There's a truism in the music business--there's no such thing as an overnight success. Ask anyone who seems to have achieved overnight success and they'll tell you about the years of hard work it took to get there. But the Blues world, well, you generally have to work ten times harder and longer to become even half as well known. Blues artists can't count on a hit single or a TV appearance to get the cash registers ringing. Blues artists rely--have to rely--on live performances in small clubs across the country...night after night after night--just to pay the bills. B.B. King, as famous and, yes, financially set as he was, was still playing 200 shows a year well into his 70s. When he was younger, it was over 300 shows a year. Koko Taylor did the same; when she finished one gig, the band would get on the bus, driven by her husband Robert "Pops" Taylor (a gifted guitar player himself), and drive to the next town. The Blues is hard work. It's also great music.
Bette Stuy is putting in that hard work. Reading her biography, it's amazing how many places she's been, how hard she's worked to become better as a songwriter, as a singer, as an artist. If you looked at what she's done in just the last three years, you'd swear that it would have to take a decade to do all that. She's played festivals in Belgium and France, the Czech Republic and London town, and, in this country, everywhere from California to New York, New York. She's worked with top notch producers such as Kashif, who has produced chart toppers for Whitney Houston and George Benson, and recorded at Sean (Puff Daddy) Combs' house in New York and Paramount Studios in L.A. And those are just a few of the highlights from just the last three years.
Bette wasn't always a Blues singer. For many years, she worked in other shades of Soul. It was still hard work. Starting in some of the dingiest clubs you don't even want to think about, performing whenever and however an opportunity presented itself--be it an all female vocal group in Canada or providing backup vocals for Caribbean Soca singer Aarow--and all the while focused on her own music. One of her songs, "Stay Free", caught the ear of none other than Ray Charles and Bette was invited to work with the master. There might have been a longer story there, producing some legendary music, but Ray Charles passed away soon after the two met.
One night at a club she was playing in Vancouver, Bette was listening to the Blues there and appreciating the simple purity of it. It started to work its way into her soul. The Blues will do that to you, if you give it half a chance. Back in New York, some time later, the band was sitting around talking about music and one of them said of Bette, "She's really a Blues singer. That's what she is--a Blues singer." Bette hadn't been singing Blues at all, but it struck her at that moment that that's what she was after all. As she told Vents Magazine earlier this year, "That's where my spirit and my voice all come together."
Bette wasn't always a Blues singer. For many years, she worked in other shades of Soul. It was still hard work. Starting in some of the dingiest clubs you don't even want to think about, performing whenever and however an opportunity presented itself--be it an all female vocal group in Canada or providing backup vocals for Caribbean Soca singer Aarow--and all the while focused on her own music. One of her songs, "Stay Free", caught the ear of none other than Ray Charles and Bette was invited to work with the master. There might have been a longer story there, producing some legendary music, but Ray Charles passed away soon after the two met.
One night at a club she was playing in Vancouver, Bette was listening to the Blues there and appreciating the simple purity of it. It started to work its way into her soul. The Blues will do that to you, if you give it half a chance. Back in New York, some time later, the band was sitting around talking about music and one of them said of Bette, "She's really a Blues singer. That's what she is--a Blues singer." Bette hadn't been singing Blues at all, but it struck her at that moment that that's what she was after all. As she told Vents Magazine earlier this year, "That's where my spirit and my voice all come together."
Bette hasn't yet decided how she wants to get "Be Like Santa" out (other than premiering it here, which we certainly appreciate). She might post it to her Soundcloud page or it might make its way to CD Baby and iTunes (you can keep up with Bette's music via Facebook and her website). Frankly, she's been too busy readying her coming album--"Introducing Bette Stuy: This Is Neo-Blues". There's been a flurry of writing and recording, filming for videos, and getting everything just right. From the singles that have been previewed, it sure sounds like the effort paid off. It's a wonder she had any time to make a Christmas single at all.
Bette did release an album back in 2005, "From The Well Of My Inner Child". I tracked it down and there's some real good stuff on there. But you can tell she was still finding her musical direction. It was before she and the Blues found each other. In a way, "Introducing Bette Stuy: This Is Neo-Blues" is Bette's recording rebirth...her neo-debut. The album is expected to drop this winter and will be accompanied by a tour in the spring. Among the songs on the album will be a newly arranged and recorded version of "Stay Free" (it's easy to hear why Ray Charles dug it so much), the Neo-Blues tune "Enigma", and a couple of sensational new Blues tunes, "Teddy Bear" and "Black Dog Blues".
Bette Stuy still has a long way to go on her musical journey. But she and the Blues were made for each other, found each other, and will now take that journey hand in hand. She's got the grit and the growl, the strut and the swagger. She's a gifted writer and singer and she's paid her dues. She is Queen of Neo-Blues. The Blues is hard work, but it's also great music. And, if you want to know why I'm so high on her, listen to "Black Dog Blues". It'll knock you out.
Bette did release an album back in 2005, "From The Well Of My Inner Child". I tracked it down and there's some real good stuff on there. But you can tell she was still finding her musical direction. It was before she and the Blues found each other. In a way, "Introducing Bette Stuy: This Is Neo-Blues" is Bette's recording rebirth...her neo-debut. The album is expected to drop this winter and will be accompanied by a tour in the spring. Among the songs on the album will be a newly arranged and recorded version of "Stay Free" (it's easy to hear why Ray Charles dug it so much), the Neo-Blues tune "Enigma", and a couple of sensational new Blues tunes, "Teddy Bear" and "Black Dog Blues".
Bette Stuy still has a long way to go on her musical journey. But she and the Blues were made for each other, found each other, and will now take that journey hand in hand. She's got the grit and the growl, the strut and the swagger. She's a gifted writer and singer and she's paid her dues. She is Queen of Neo-Blues. The Blues is hard work, but it's also great music. And, if you want to know why I'm so high on her, listen to "Black Dog Blues". It'll knock you out.
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