Joan Armatrading

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Joan Armatrading

Background information
Birth name Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading
Born 9 December 1950 (1950-12-09) (age 57)
Basseterre, Saint Kitts
Origin England
Genre(s) Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues
Occupation(s) singer, songwriter
Instrument(s) guitar, piano
Years active 1972–present
Label(s) A&M, Universal, EMI, Savoy Jazz
Website http://www.joanarmatrading.com

Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading (born December 9, 1950) is an English[1] singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She achieved fame in the mid 1970s as a headlining musician who was also a solo performing woman of colour, a rarity at that time. Known for her distinctive low voice and intelligent, sensitive lyrics, Armatrading was a pioneer for other female artists and is a three times Grammy Award-nominee [2]. Additional achievements include an MBE, and a BA (Hons) degree in History from the Open University, of which she is a trustee [3].

Contents

[edit] Early life

Armatrading was born in Basseterre, Saint Kitts in the West Indies and moved with her family to Birmingham, England, in 1957. Armatrading began writing lyrics and music at the age of 14. Her first job was working at Rabone Chesterman (makers of fine engineering tools), in Hockley, Birmingham. She was sacked from this job because she insisted on bringing her guitar to work and playing during tea breaks[4].

[edit] Career

In the early 1970s, Armatrading moved to London to perform in a repertory production of Hair. There she met the lyricist Pam Nestor, and they worked together on the album Whatever's for Us, released on the Cube label in 1972. This debut LP saw Armatrading perform all of the vocals, write all of the music and play an array of instruments. Nestor was credited as co-lyricist; however Cube considered Armatrading to be the more likely star material. These events produced a tension which broke up the partnership. A period of inactivity for Armatrading followed, while she extracted herself from her contract with Cube Records.

It was only in 1975 that she was free to sign with A&M, and issued the album Back to the Night which was promoted on tour with a six-piece jazz-pop group called The Movies. Armatrading credited up-and-coming UK singer Elkie Brooks on the sleeve notes as she had cooked for Armatrading and the band in the studio while making the album, which was produced by Brooks' then-husband Pete Gage. A major publicity relaunch in 1976 and the involvement of producer Glyn Johns propelled her next album, Joan Armatrading, into the top 20 and spawned the top 10 hit single "Love and Affection". The album mixed acoustic work with jazz-influenced material, and this style was retained for the 1977 follow-up Show Some Emotion. This album was also produced by Glyn Johns, as was 1978's To the Limit. These albums included songs which continue to be staples of Armatrading's live shows, including "Willow", "Down to Zero", "Tall in the Saddle", and "Kissin' and a Huggin". Also at this time, Armatrading wrote and performed "The Flight of the Wild Geese", which was used during the opening and end titles for the 1978 war film The Wild Geese. A live album entitled Steppin' Out, which showcased her well-honed stage act, was released in 1979.

In 1980, Armatrading radically revised her playing style and released Me Myself I, a harder pop-oriented album produced by Richard Gottehrer, who had previously produced albums by Blondie. The album became Armatrading's highest ever charting album both in the UK and the US, while the title track became her second UK top 40 hit single. The same pop style was also evident on the 1981 album Walk Under Ladders and 1983's The Key. Both of these albums were also top 10 successes in the UK, with The Key also producing the hit single "Drop the Pilot", Armatrading's third (and, to date, final) UK top 40 hit. To capitalise on her success, A&M released the "best of" compilation Track Record in 1983.

Armatrading's next studio album was 1985's Secret Secrets. The album was a top 20 hit but failed to yield any hit singles, cementing Armatrading's status as an "album artist". Taking over production responsibilities herself, she continued to record the albums Sleight of Hand (1986), The Shouting Stage (1988) and Hearts and Flowers (1990) for A&M Records, which all made the UK top 40 but failed to achieve the level of success of her earlier works despite successful national tours (a show from her 1988 "Shouting Stage" tour was also filmed for television).

In 1991, A&M released the compilation The Very Best of Joan Armatrading which returned her to the top 10. However, her following studio album for A&M, 1992's Square The Circle did not replicate this success and would be her final recording for the label. Following her departure from A&M, a label she had been with for almost 20 years, Armatrading signed with RCA for her 1995 album What's Inside. Despite various television appearances and a full tour (which included a string quartet in addition to her stage band), the album was not a commercial success.

By 2003, and no longer attached to a major label, she released the album Lovers Speak. Though her first album in eight years, it met with little commercial success.

Armatrading's music is considered to be mostly pop with forays into blues, rock, folk, jazz, and even reggae. Her latest album, 2007's Into the Blues, debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Blues Chart, making Armatrading the first UK female artist, and the first artist born in St Kitts to earn that distinction. Into the Blues, which Armatrading calls "the CD I’ve been promising myself to write for a long time," was nominated for a Grammy, also making her the first female UK artist to be nominated in the Grammy Blues category.

Armatrading has always played electric guitar on her many CDs but it's Into The Blues that has at last made critics and the public wake up to her prowess on that instrument. Her blues playing is in the classic lead Chicago Blues style and compliments her fast semi-acoustic lead and chording technique which typified her earlier guitar work. In recent times Joan does all guitar work for her albums and on stage.

Joan has been nominated twice for a Brit award as best female vocalist and has received an Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996.

[edit] Personal life

Always a private person, Armatrading lives a reclusive lifestyle in Surrey, in the U.K.

[edit] Collaborations

Armatrading made a "vocal cameo appearance" on the 1986 Queen album A Kind of Magic on the song "Don't Lose Your Head".

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album UK US US Blues BPI certifications
1972 Whatever's For Us - - - -
1975 Back to the Night - - - -
1976 Joan Armatrading 12 67 - Gold
1977 Show Some Emotion 6 52 - Gold
1978 To the Limit 13 125 - -
1980 Me Myself I 5 28 - Gold
1981 Walk Under Ladders 6 88 - Gold
1983 The Key 10 32 - Gold
1985 Secret Secrets 14 73 - Silver
1986 Sleight of Hand 34 70 - Silver
1988 The Shouting Stage 28 100 - Silver
1990 Hearts and Flowers 29 161 - -
1992 Square the Circle 34 - - -
1995 What's Inside - - - -
2003 Lovers Speak - - - -
2007 Into The Blues - - 1 -

[edit] Compilations

Year Album UK US BPI certifications
1979 Stepping Out (live album) - - -
1983 Track Record 18 113 -
1991 The Very Best Of Joan Armatrading 9 - Gold
1999 Love And Affection: Best Of Joan Armatrading (2 CD) - - -
2003 Love And Affection: Classics 1975-1983 24 - -
2004 Live: All the Way from America - - -

[edit] Singles

Year Title UK Singles Charts US Billboard Hot 100 US Mainstream Rock
1973 "Lonely Lady" - - -
1976 "Love And Affection" 10 - -
1980 "Rosie" 49 - -
1980 "Me Myself I" 21 - -
1980 "All The Way From America" 54 - -
1981 "I'm Lucky" 46 - -
1981 "No Love" 50 - -
1983 "Drop the Pilot" 11 78 33
1983 "(I Love It When You) Call Me Names" - - -
1985 "Temptation" 65 - -
1986 "Kind Words (And A Real Good Heart)" 81 - 37
1986 "Reach Out" - - -
1988 "The Shouting Stage" 89 - -
1988 "Living For You" 98 - -
1990 "More Than One Kind Of Love" 75 - -
1990 "Free" - - -
1991 "Love And Affection" (reissue) 91 - -
1992 "Wrapped Around Her" 56 - -
1992 "True Love" - - -

[edit] References

  • Logan, Nick (1976 & 1977), The Illustrated New Musical Express Encyclopedia of Rock, Salamander Books, ISBN 0861010094
  • Clifford, Mike (1992), New Illustrated Rock Handbook, Salamander Books, ISBN 0861017218

[edit] Sample

 Everybody Gotta Know by Joan Armatrading

Everybody Gotta Know (reduced quality)

from The Key by Joan Armatrading, A&M Records, 1983. Sample from Joan Armatrading - Gold 2003 via iTunes
Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Houston - Music - Union Joan
  2. ^ Official Website
  3. ^ Joan has been nominated twice for a Brit award as best female vocalist and has received an Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996.Official Website
  4. ^ BBC R1 interview with Janice Long

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links