Make plans to see Michelle Malone at Songbirds
Whether you heard it from an elder musician, read it in a book, or learned about it from (lord help me) Ralph Macchio, the legend of Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads in exchange for his guitar playing skills is a resonant bit of American folklore.
Of course, there is a much older tale of the great violinist Niccolò Paganini making the same Faustian pact for his own legendary talent. They are colorful stories, but just stories, all the same.
For my money, a much better story involves a young girl, raised by her mother and grandmother, both professional singers. Her childhood was so steeped in music that she started performing at age four, mastered multiple instruments within a few years, and formed her own band at age twelve. It’s a much better story because it is a true story, Michelle Malone’s story, and it involves no supernatural bartering, just pure talent, drive, and a passion for music in general and blues in particular.
To list all the accomplishments and accolades of the Atlanta native’s thirty-year career would take three times the space we have here, but a small sampling includes collaborations with Little Feat, Steve Earle, James Taylor, ZZ Top, John Mayer, Drivin’ and Cryin’, and Gregg Allman.
The Indigo Girls owe her a few favors (she has the gold and platinum records to prove it.)
Straight out of school she was signed to a major label, a couple in fact, but eventually eschewed that to start her own label in 1992 and has since produced a staggering catalog of work.
On top of it all she has found the time for a wide range of philanthropic work including founding a college scholarship program for girls in need.
Better folks than I have sang the praises of her music (Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Guitar World) and so my goal here is less about adding my own descriptive verbiage to the lot and more about making local music lovers aware that this virtual goddess of guitar and voice is coming to town.
On Thursday, August 9th, Songbirds Guitar Museum will proudly present Michelle Malone in support of her latest album, Slings & Arrows. The album, her fifteenth to date, was released in March and debuted at number eight on the Billboard Blues Chart.
The critical response has been phenomenal with many hailing as it her best album to date, no mean feat given the superb quality of the fourteen preceding entries. “Love Yourself” is southern funk in the best Dr. John/Little Feat tradition.
“Sugar on My Tongue” suggests not that she has drawn influence from the Rolling Stones, but rather that the Rolling Stones drew their inspiration from the same sacred sources as Malone.
“Beast’s Boogie,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” and “Civil War” demonstrate a range and depth that spans blues, Americana, roots, soul, and rock and roll without ever losing the thread of continuity that binds them all together as a family.
Every song is a perfect example of what it is, every song is Michelle Malone, and hats off to Songbirds for once again hosting an artist whose presence elevates the scene to a whole new level of respectability and cool.
You owe it to yourself to see this show, and in the meantime there is no shortage of this tremendously talented artist’s music for you to treat yourself with.