I do a little country music. And a little bit of jazz. A lot of blues and a lot of R&B. There’s no one slot that any of it fits into. So that of course works against you.
Tracy Nelson (b. 12/27/44) is an American country and blues singer. She has been involved in the recording of over 20 albums in her recording career, which started in 1965.
Early Life:
Nelson was born and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. There, she first learned about R&B music from nighttime listening to WLAC radio from Nashville, Tennessee. In her teens, Nelson sang folk music in coffeehouses and with The Fuller-Wood Singers group, and was lead singer in The Fabulous Imitations band. She attended the University of Wisconsin as a social science major.
Musical Beginnings:
In 1965, Nelson recorded an acoustic blues album released on Prestige Records, Deep Are the Roots. It featured blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite as a member of her backup band. In Chicago, where the album was recorded, Nelson met and learned from artists including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Otis Spann.
Nelson moved to San Francisco in 1966, where she became part of the music scene there. Her band Mother Earth played the Fillmore Auditorium, sharing bills with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. It was during this period that Nelson wrote and first recorded her signature song “Down So Low” (released on the first Mother Earth album Living with the Animals, tracked in Nashville and the vocal recorded in Memphis with Terry Manning), which was later covered by Linda Ronstadt, Etta James, Diamanda Galás, Dee Dee Warwick, Ellen McIlwaine, Maria Muldaur, and Cyndi Lauper. Nelson also re-recorded “Down So Low” herself several times. The album also featured Mike Bloomfield, who she had met earlier in Chicago, on the band’s eponymous song, “Mother Earth.”
Discography:
With Mother Earth = 7
Solo = 19
Other Collaborations = 5
Some things to share:
Nelson continues as one of the four Blues Broads, with leader Angela Strehli, Annie Sampson, and Dorothy Morrison, as of 2019. The Blues Broads are based in Marin County, California, where Angela Strehli lives and works. Their live November 4, 2011, performance from the Throckmorton Theatre was released as a CD + DVD recording.
Official website: here
Sources: wikipedia, YouTube
Tao Talk 
I know some covers of the song, down so low, but didn’t know anything about Tracey. Good to learn about her
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Another musician not sure where I got her name from, but she has a certain charm about her that I like. Happy to share new info to you, Randy.
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Thanks for covering Tracy! Her song “Down So Low” was written about her breakup with Steve Miller. “Mother Earth” was written by pianist Memphis Slim (also the only person I know to play boogie-woogie celesta). Her version with Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Mark Naftalin on piano is hot.
She did a great duet with Willie Nelson on “After the Fire is Gone”.
For years she came home to visit family at Christmas (and her birthday) and we could count on a concert that week. Her last time in town was with Corky Siegel (of the Siegel-Schwall Band).
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Steve, I wondered if you would know her as she is from your neck of the woods. THANK YOU for sharing those delightful tidbits about her. It makes “Down So Low” that much more impactful knowing who she was singing about, and that it was Steve Miller.
Of course I had to go out and find the Tracy – Willie duet :)
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I’d never seen that video. She recorded a version with Willie a few years before that. By the way, she did a great version of “Time is on my side” in 1976 – which I couldn’t find on YouTube a few years ago when I posted on her, but it’s there now.
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Ah, the mysterious realm of YouTube!
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Nice to learn about yet another female artist who is all new to me! Not only has Tracy Nelson had an impressive recording career, but she still sounds great on her most recent 2023 album. Her voice has aged beautifully!
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Yes, not bad for an 80 year-old, eh!
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For sure. I’m still listening to her most recent album.
“Your Funeral and My Trial” is sizzling. I love Nelson teamed with young country blues artist Jontavious Willis, who could be her grandson.
There are also other great collaborations on this album.
Lisa, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!😀
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:) I like it when the oldsters mentor the youngsters. I think you remember me mentioning bluegrass guitar (and other stringed instruments) virtuoso, Billy Strings? Billy is getting mentored by those oldsters and I’m loving it. He’s going to be touring with Willie, Robert Plant, and others.
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I love that concept as well. Old cats may no longer be 18, but many surely can show a trick or two to young cats! Plus, music can keep you young at heart!
In the meantime, I’ve listened to Nelson’s entire most recent album. While except for one all songs are covers, her renditions are very compelling. For one, “Hard Times”, apparently, she played guitar on a recording for the first time since her 1964 debut!
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Interesting on Nelson’s most recent album.
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I found her a couple of years ago. When I first saw the name I thought she was Ricky Nelson’s daughter…Tracy Nelson…nope… I like her music….her voice is still great.
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Her voice is big, like Kate Smith’s.
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Yes I agree…it’s HUGE… great pick today!
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I had a Mother Earth LP back in the day too. She still sounds great. (K)
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Awesome. Her voice really rings out.
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It does.
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Boy oh boy… you are sharing all sorts of music by fabulous women. What a great voice she has! Thanks for this one. Lisa.
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Dale, doing this every year has been the best way for me to recognize how many good female musical artist there are out there. I started in 2020 and have a list that is about halfway through 2027. If you have any good female Canadian artists to suggest, please do. If I haven’t covered them yet and they aren’t on my future list, I will add them.
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Oh, with pleasure. We have many up here!
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she sounds good! I do love her voice! :-)
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I’m glad, Carol Anne :)
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