Beth McKee's Page

B E T H M C K E E

Biography



“McKee goes at the Charles canon with all the daintiness

of a starving person let loose on a plate of barbecue.”

(offBeat Magazine, New Orleans)



Acclaimed, swampy & soulful, Americana singer BETH MCKEE has a new fan. His name is Bobby Charles, and he is the real deal: In the late fifties, Bobby joined recording artists Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon and Etta James, on the historic Chess Records roster, where he wrote and recorded “See You Later Alligator,” “Walking to New Orleans” and “But I Do.” “Walking to New Orleans,” of course, has been a landmark Crescent City exponent ever since, for fellow resident Fats Domino and, most recently, as the theme for Spike Lee’s HBO requiem to Hurricane Katrina, “When the Levees Broke.” But a recent letter from Mr. Charles thanks Ms. Beth McKee for “making me feel so proud… doing my songs on your new CD.”

Bobby Charles says Beth McKee is “one talented lady with a great band.” His letter characterizes her voice as “easy on my mind.” Suddenly, her foray into the inimitable material of this bayou bard is a less intimidating exercise. She’s got a license to be righteous, as she gigs in support of the CD, I’M THAT WAY, released on McKee’s own SWAMPGIRL MUSIC.

In the recent issue of New Orleans arts magazine, OFFBEAT, venerable music journalist Steve Hochman tells the story: “The ladies love Bobby Charles. McKee, ex-Evangeline and ex-Mid City, devotes this album entirely to his songs... Maybe Bobby’s become the Louisiana Leonard Cohen, but where with Cohen the women who have taken on his catalog tend to dig for the poetic feminine aspect encased in the author’s robust (if Zen) manliness, McKee goes at the Charles canon with all the daintiness of a starving person let loose on a plate of barbecue. Man or woman. And it’s the absolute right approach for material from the Bard of the Bayous, Guru of the Gulf, Sage of the Swamps. She doesn’t waste any effort searching for subtext in, for example, the opening ‘I Spent All My Money Loving You’ or ‘See You Later Alligator.’” Hochman references the CD’s “underlying growl that marks these performances — blasting saxes, slashing and sliding guitars, burbling organ and piano (McKee leading the way on the latter) and earthy beats (from hubby/co-producer Juan Perez) all keyed to McKee’s naturally lusty vocals.” Now, that’s a review! Or, again, as Hochman asserts, “That’s Louisiana Zen.”

Beth McKee is rootsy all right. She’s also a firecracker on wheels when it comes to making choices in her own career -- with establishment of her Swampgirl Music as a key marketing tool in the uncertain indie music world -- a master of all talents and tasks with which she has been blessed. (I’M THAT WAY is available at Amazon.com, and on CDBaby.com and iTunes, as she continues discussions with business partners and labels regarding future distribution.) “It is a blessing,” she acknowledges about her ongoing association with the music she loves. “I’m more and more aware of what feels right, what feels real. Louisiana is my favorite State, because of its unique presence, representing Americana. I wanted to do this album, to pay respect to Louisiana. Naturally, I was drawn to Bobby Charles, whose catalog will always represent the best in roots music. Now, I’m on a mission to tour nationwide with these songs.” Experience says she’ll meet her goal handily.

Beth is a mainstay on the New Orleans, Austin and Jackson MS music scenes, having performed with such legends as Buckwheat Zydeco, the subdudes (and Tommy Malone solo), Marcia Ball, Jimmy Buffett, the Zion Harmonizers and many more. She’s performed from coast to coast, including concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, Antone’s, Tipitina’s and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Her career took off nationally in the early nineties, when she was a key singer and player with up and coming roots band, EVANGELINE, a hot property on MCA MUSIC.

Born in Mississippi (in the hometown of legendary blues label, Malaco Records), “McKee is a deeply moving Southern singer,” according to SONIC BOOMERS (internet magazine) critic Bill Bentley, long of the roots music scene. Bentley continues, “Sometimes a collection of songs is so flat-out right all you can do is shake your head and smile. Which is exactly what I’M THAT WAY makes you do.” In explaining the kind of sophistication a vocalist like Beth McKee brings to these songs from the heart, Bentley remarks: “The center of this music comes from southern Louisiana, where frivolity and pain have made a pact to live side-by-side without complaining, each nourishing the opposing elements of the other. The great vocalists, which McKee clearly is, know this and find a way to blend the two into a seamless whole to help us understand the duality of the human condition, and how so much beauty could also be surrounded by such sadness.”

McKee is backed by her studio band, including Juan Perez, her husband, an acclaimed drummer and percussionist in his own right (he was drummer on The Bellamy Brothers’ hits). Beth plays accordion, which she loves, and most evidently, is a piano and keyboards talent of note. She co-produced the project with Perez. The Florida SENTINEL’s Jim Abbott, who compares Beth’s vocals to Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams, notes: “On piano, her driving left hand recalls Professor Longhair.” When reviewed in concert, the L.A. WEEKLY raved that Beth’s piano is “worthy of some Jerry Lee Lewis arson.”

Beth McKee’s “knockout collection” (BLUE SUEDE NEWS) of Bobby Charles’ iconic songs clearly stands as her latest showcase to the world. Jim Markel, critic for SWAMPLAND online, puts it this way: “As opposed to so many tributes that have multiple artists, McKee acting as the single voice for Charles’ musical legacy works far better. She understands this music. She also can perform with the same languid vocals, the same Louisiana piano flavor, and the same heart and emotion as a musician who knows what it’s like when music remains your life’s primary calling… If there is any justice, I’M THAT WAY should open the world’s eyes to the talents of both McKee and Charles… for generations to come.”



Visit www.BETHMCKEE.com