On March 23 Marva Wright died at 6:00 am. I first saw Marva at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. I was familiar with her name, in New Orleans she is known as the Blues Queen, but had not really listened to any of her music. Within minutes of her introduction I was a fan. Ms. Wright knew how to sing and she really knew how to sing the blues. It might seem a contradiction but Marva brought a wonderous joy to her singing of the blues. From the audience I could feel how much fun she was having on the stage. You couldn't watch her sing and not be moved.
Marva Wright came to music late in life. She was almost 40 before she turned her love of music into a career. Starting out as a way to help make ends meet for her family she soon found herself touring the world with her voice. Like many blues singers Marva's first songs were delivered in the church. She was content to lend her voice to the choir until she went looking for a second job and found herself singing in the clubs on Bourbon Street.
Late last year Marva suffered two strokes. Unfortunately she never recovered and Tuesday last week her body finally gave up its fight. Marva was 62 years old. It may be a cliche, but though she may be dead Marva will live on in her music.
No comments:
Post a Comment