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Special Guests
Saturday, May 24, 2003
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Francine Reed
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When she was only three years old, FRANCINE REED
gave her first vocal performance. It was at her aunt's church and she
was so small that she had to stand on the piano so the congregation could
see her. Reed was unable to pursue her dream of singing full-time until
her children were grown, but she sang in local jazz clubs and at various
functions in her adopted hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. She eventually
rose to prominence and began singing as a support act with artists such
as Miles Davis, Smokey Robinson, Etta James and The Crusaders. In 1985,
she met Lyle Lovett and they formed a strong bond that still exists today;
Reed has performed with Lovett on shows like "Late Night with David
Letterman," "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno and "Regis
and Kathy Lee" and also on several albums. Known to most as Lovett's
duet and "foreground" vocalist, Reed has also doubled this role
with Willie Nelson, singing duets on Milk Cow Blues (2000, Polygram)
and at various high-profile gigs. Reed's solo career began in the 1990s
and she released her debut, I Want You to Love Me (Ichiban), in
1995, followed a year later with Can't Make It On My Own (Ichiban).
Reed has released 5 solo albums, her most recent being I Got A Right!….To
Some of My Best! Tonight her side musicians are Richard Bell on tenor
sax, Jerry Lambert on piano, Keith Ronfola on drums and Russell Rodgers
on bass.
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Roy Blount, Jr.
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ROY BLOUNT, JR. was born in
Indianapolis and grew up in Decatur, Georgia. He earned his B.A. from
Vanderbilt, graduating magna cum laude, and his M.A. from Harvard. He
was a reporter and columnist for the Atlanta Journal and a part-time
English instructor at Georgia State College in the late '60s. From 1968
to 1975 he was a staff writer and editor for Sports Illustrated,
and he has also written articles for Esquire, The New York Times
and Inside Sports. His essays, articles, stories, verses and drawings
have appeared in 126 different periodicals including Vanity Fair,
GQ, National Geographic and Rolling Stone.
Blount is a regular panelist on NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me,"
he is a contributing editor of The Atlantic Monthly and he writes
a regular column for The Oxford American. Blount's seventeenth
book, a biography of Robert E. Lee, will be published later in May and
according to the Chicago Tribune, Blount, "…has
become America's foremost humorist."
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Sam Bush
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SAM BUSH made his recording debut, Poor Richards Almanac,
when he was 17, after holding title as the National Junior Fiddle Champion
for three consecutive years. When he was 19 he founded New Grass Revival
(NGR), a band that combined a variety of music styles like rock, pop,
reggae, jazz, country and bluegrass for 18 years. NGR released ten albums
and disbanded on New Year's Eve in 1989 by opening for the Grateful Dead.
After NGR, Bush led Emmylou Harris' Grammy-winning Nash Ramblers for five
years. Bush, who plays the mandolin, fiddle and guitar, has recorded on
albums by Lyle Lovett, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Left Over Salmon
and many others, and he has released three solo records. Bush's latest
release is Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride and he looks forward to
touring with his band this fall to promote it.
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