E. C. Scott - Come Get Your Love (1995)

Modern blues singer E.C. Scott brings a funky '90s sensibility to her classic soul and gospel influences. Raised in Oakland, California, Scott grew up listening to gospel singers like Shirley Caesar and Inez Andrews; as she grew older, she began to ignore her mother's restrictions on secular music and sampled the sounds of the rich soul music on her sisters' radio. Scott was singing in nightclubs by the time she was 16, but her marriage soon put her career on hiatus. When her two children were old enough, Scott decided to resume her singing career with her family's blessing; she initially worked as a jazz stylist, but soon returned to the blues and R&B she knew well. Scott put together a backing band called Smoke and played the San Francisco club scene, becoming the house band at Slim's for a year and self-releasing the single "Just Dance" b/w "Let's Make It Real" in 1991. Scott built up her local fan base and performed at several blues festivals around the U.S. before signing to Blind Pig in 1994. Her debut album, Come Get Your Love, was released the following year; it was followed in 1998 by Hard Act to Follow. Two years later, Scott resurfaced with Masterpiece. ~ Steve Huey