Take Me to Tunica

Woohoo! Jerry and I are off tomorrow for a five day trip to Tunica, Mississippi to attend the Blues Foundation Music Awards.

Tunica is about 25 or 30 miles southwest of Memphis, TN. It boasts being the beginning of the blues trail in the middle of where "the blues" was born and where southern hospitality gets its name.

Whatever possessed us to go to such a place for such an event?

My cousin, Teresa James, is the sum total of the impetus for this excursion. She has been nominated for

Contemporary Female Blues Singer of the Year!

Teresa James, singer/songwriter/keyboard

Teresa's 85 year old dad, my Uncle Jack, lives in Hillsboro, Texas and will be making the trip with us. Even though this will be a 9 or 10 hour driving trip, we plan to spend the time singing, listening to music, arguing over who knows the best shortcuts, and reminiscing about the great times our families have had together.

Oh, by the way, Tunica is also the largest gaming resort area between Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Don't think I don't know that my DH is hoping for some quality time in the Grand Casino - but he is playing it on the down low.

Teresa and her husband, Terry Wilson, live in Canyun Country, California where they both make their living writing songs, composing and editing music, and playing and singing with their band, "Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps."

Terry is a base guitar player and singer who is quite sought after himself -- often by big name artists looking for local band members to play in performances. He has quite a list of film credits for serving as music editor, song writer (like Sitar Dude for Dude Where's My Car?), composer, music performer, and even actor in a couple. Check out his filmography here.

Teresa, is the lead singer and keyboard player -- her jazzy, boogie accompaniment rivals the best - actually, it IS the best! Teresa and Terry perform all over the world. Teresa has also used to sing and write songs for movies and TV. (like "Sittin' By the Side of the Road" written by Teresa James and Terry Wilson and performed by Andie MacDowell for the movie Michael, starring John Travolta. Also, the theme song for TV show, Step by Step with Suzanne Somers. (just to name a couple you might remember.) Funny anecdote - Teresa said when they called to ask her to write a song for Andie MacDowell to sing which was supposed to be a really bad song because her character was a failing song writer, Teresa answered, "Well, sure, I can write a bad song as good as the next fellow!" Teresa went on to coach Andie Macdowell in her singing of that song for the movie.

You can see Teresa and the band performing at two venues on You tube for a little taste of her great sound:

Two songs and some great keyboard here - Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps - Live Rhythm & Blues performance in Houston, Texas, USA at The Howling Coyote 11AUG2007. (Jerry and I were there for this one!) Listen for that great keyboard.
A clip from one of their cruise performances here - Teresa James from Rocking the Boat.

And check out "Come Up and See Me Sometime" performed on an IndieFeed audio podcast. You'll hear the super keyboarding here, too.

I have it on good authority (Uncle Jack) that Terese will be singing twice at the awards banquet - one of her songs, I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know (Listen to a snippet here) - as well as a duet with one of her friends, Tommy Castro, who is up for male singer of the year and who's band is up for band of the year. Yikes, that's good company, no? Jeepers, I'm getting excited just writing about it.

Hey, I sure hope Jerry wins enough in the casinos to buy me the Blues Foundation's new pink t-shirt to support the arts. On the back . . . they've used a title line from one of Teresa's songs, "Since I found the blues, I've been in the pink!" from their newest CD release, The Bottom Line. (This is the first time the Blues Foundation has used a woman's lyric on their merchandise.)

OK, you guys have a good time and play nice while we're gone. Meanwhile, you can check out the latest news on Teresa and Terry and their music friends here. You can find her CDs on iTunes and Amazon as well as on her website.

See ya when we get home.

Comments

Thanks for the family history, cousin! I knew some of Teresa's accomplishments, but not everything you've discussed! I'm hoping your trip was fantastic, wish I could have gone and cannot WAIT to hear "the rest of the story!" I hope everyone checks out her music. She's really extraordinary. Like ALL of the James family!

Posted by: Missy Wheeler | May 06, 2008 at 09:52 AM

Yes, and I've found out more since I wrote this post. LIke Teresa also wrote the "Reba" tv show theme and Terry has played with Willie Nelson, Lightning Hopkins --- and oh, there is lots more but I won't bore ya.
Missy, thanks for commenting. TTYL Sally

Posted by: Sallyt | May 10, 2008 at 10:52 AM