Sunday, April 23, 2023

Ottilie Patterson: St Louis Blues

The late British jazz singer George Melly used to ask his audiences: "Who is the greatest blues vocalist Britain has ever produced?" He'd tease them, asking, "Mick Jagger? No! Steve Winwood? No! Van Morrison? No!", before suggesting the greatest of all time was Ottilie Patterson.

Me neither, but you can read about her career - it's a sad story - in a Guardian article. And there's a documentary about her on the BBC iPlayer, My Name Is Ottilie.

I don't know when this was recorded, but Patterson is singing with her husband Chris Barber's band.

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