11/6/02
Newly annointed blues queen carries the torch
By Jay Hardwig
When
I was 23, I was making sandwiches at a Texas sub shop (hold the pickles
please); Shemekia Copeland, at the same age, has four W.C. Handy Awards,
five Living Blues Awards, and a Grammy nomination. And that’s
not the only difference between us: I wasn’t raised in Harlem,
I don’t have a blues legend for a father, and critics have never
used the words “breathtaking,” “sizzling,” and
“rafter-rattling” to describe me (to say nothing of “hot
and haunting.”) It’s not for nothing that Copeland has accumulated such breathless critical acclaim: in a little more than five years in the business, she’s turned the blues establishment on its collective ear and made a strong case for the crown of Queen of the Blues. The daughter of the late, great Texas bluesman Johnny Copeland, Shemekia spent her youth singing in gospel choirs but didn’t give the profession serious thought until her teenage years. At 15, she claims to have received the calling: “It was like a switch went off in my head,” Shemekia recalls, “and I wanted to sing. It became a want and a need. I had to do it.”
Her father, increasingly slowed by health problems, took her on the road with him; her guest spots became show-stealers and soon Shemekia was installed as her father’s opening act. The 1997 CD “Turn the Heat Up,” recorded when Shemekia was all of 18, drew rave reviews from The New York Times to The Village Voice; 2000’s “Wicked” landed her 3 W.C. Handy Awards (Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Contemporary Female Artist of the Year) and a Grammy nomination.
“Copeland burns white hot,” I wrote when “Wicked” came out, “singing with enough power to knock you flat on your back and enough purr to make you want to stay there.” Her latest, “Talking to Strangers,” has done nothing to dim critical enthusiasm, showcasing the same sass, soul, and steam that made Shemekia’s name known well beyond the borders of the blues. (Louisiana legend Dr. John produced and plays piano on the album; he also sings on the duet “The Push I Need.”) When Copeland unleashes her powerhouse voice on the brand-new Orange Peel come Thursday night, the owners of the joint better hope it’s up to code, because the walls will tremble and the stage will smoke. Not bad for a 23-year-old.