American blues singer
Musical artist
Lou Ann Barton (born February 17, 1954) is an American blues singer based in Austin, Texas since the 1970s.[1] AllMusic noted that "The grace, poise, and confidence she projects on-stage is part of a long tradition for women blues singers".[1]
Biography
In 1975, she joined up with W. C. Clark to form his W. C. Clark Blues Revue.[citation needed]
In late September 1977 Barton joined a new Austin blues group, Triple Threat Revue, with Stevie Ray Vaughan and W. C. Clark.[2] It was renamed Double Trouble when Clark left in May 1978, and Barton continued with Double Trouble until November 1979.[3] In the early 1980s, she did a stint with the jump blues band Roomful of Blues.[2] It was there that she was spotted by the record producer Jerry Wexler.
She recorded the album Old Enough for Asylum Records in 1982, a well-received recording that was co-produced by Jerry Wexler and Glenn Frey.[2] Despite positive reviews, Old Enough did not sell well, and her tenure with Asylum Records was a short one.[2] Barton's Forbidden Tones, a pop-oriented EP slated as her Asylum follow-up, was released by Spindletop Records in 1986. It also failed to find a wide audience.[2]
Her next release was the 1989 album Read My Lips for the Austin-based Antone's Records,[2] a return to her blues roots that featured versions of songs made famous by Slim Harpo, Hank Ballard and Wanda Jackson, among others. Barton later collaborated with singers Marcia Ball and Angela Strehli on the release Dreams Come True (1990).[4]
In 1990, Barton made an appearance on Austin City Limits with the W. C. Clark Blues Revue. The show was taped in celebration of Clark's 50th birthday. Other artists included Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, and Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds.[5]
In 2001, she again appeared on Austin City Limits, as a guest of Double Trouble.[6] In 2006, she was a featured act at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.[citation needed] As of 2010, she was touring with Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt-a-Whirl Band.[citation needed] Through 2018 Barton continued to perform in Austin, and elsewhere, sometimes "[b]acked by Derek O'Brien, Denny Freeman, Scott Nelson, & Jay Moeller", sometimes with Sue Foley.[7][8]
