Candye Kane

Candye Kane (2012)

Candye Kane (* 13. November 1961 as Candace Hogan in Ventura , California , † 6. May 2016 in Los Angeles , California) was an American blues singer. Temporarily mid-1980s in the stripper - and porn film operates genre of, she covered as a musician, songwriter and performer of different playing styles - from swing -betonten rhythm and blues of the late forties to classic Chicago blues to rockabilly -like game variations.

biography

Childhood and youth

Candye Kane grew up in a blue collar household of Jewish descent . She spent her childhood and youth in Highland Park , a problem district on the northeastern periphery of Los Angeles. At the local high school, she made friends with young people of Mexican origin from the wider community of youth gangs . There she learned to sing and speak Spanish, among other things . She made further musical attempts at organizing concerts and musicals in her neighborhood. At fourteen she received an offer from the USC Conservatory of Music . Because she didn't know what to do with opera and classical music , she didn't notice it. She became pregnant for the first time when she was seventeen. Due to the cramped living situation (as a single mother, she lived with her parents in the same house) and the financially poor situation, she initially hired herself as a stripper . Specialty: In contrast to others, she did not strip to contemporary disco sound such as that of Donna Summer , but rather in neoburlesque style with a cowboy hat based on the music of bands and performers such as Joe Liggins and the Honey Drippers , Wynonie Harris and Ray Price . She later worked as a plus-size porn star in a number of porn film productions. Kane later used the money she earned during her time as a sex worker to advance her musical career and to hire professional musicians.

The first attempts at musical orientation took place parallel to her jobs in the sex business . After a short guest appearance in the local punk rock scene, stylistic excursions into the fields of country and roots rock followed . At times Candye Kane worked in parallel with several bands - together with two cousins ​​in the punk combo The Gemini 3 and the formation Rawhide, which was formed for more professional appearances. In retrospect, Kane described the 1980s as a tumultuous time on several occasions - determined by joint appearances with a number of better-known acts such as Black Flag , Social Distortion , Dwight Yoakam , the Circle Jerks , Los Lobos , The Blasters and Lone Justice . The country formations put together with changing fellow musicians gained local attention over time. Candye Kane was discovered by talent scouts from the record company Epic Records , which is part of the CBS group , and was able to sign a preliminary contract. The major deal, which was almost wrapped up, failed, however. The reason was, on the one hand, reservations from CBS as to whether Kane would fit into the targeted genre of mainstream country. Another reason for exclusion was her part-time job in the porn industry, of which the label had meanwhile become aware. Candye Kane completed her efforts to start a career in the Nashville- oriented country genre after these experiences. As a singer and entertainer, she decided to make another musical reorientation - this time in the direction of the blues and the expressive style of well-known post-war performers such as Etta James and Ruth Brown .

Career as a blues singer

In 1986 Candye Kane moved to San Diego . There she married the bassist Thomas Yearsley, a member of the rockabilly group The Paladins , with whom she was together for 14 years and had a son. She also enrolled at Palomar College , where she majored in Woman Studies. She also qualified vocally. At college she participated in the staging of the famous musical Oklahoma! . Another expression of her new, deeper interest in music were her first self-written songs. Yersley's Paladins also acted as producers of their first self-published CD Burlesque Swing , which was released in 1992 . From a stylistic point of view, Burlesque Swing was a work strongly oriented towards the Jump Blues of the post-war years. The next CD from 1994: Home Cookin ' also offered a similarly brass-heavy sound . Like CD number three, Knockout , which was released the following year , Home Cookin 'was released on the label of blues musician and record company operator Clifford Antone . Unlike its predecessors, Knockout not only contained blues pieces, but also some country-oriented numbers. Album number four, Diva la Grande , was released in 1997. Produced by Derek O'Brien and roots rock musician Dave Alvin . You Need a Great Big Woman and All You Can Eat , two catchy blues numbers, became popular regular numbers at live concerts.

The two follow-up CDs Swango (1998; producer: Mike Vernon ) and The Toughest Girl Alive (2000; producer: Scott Billington) were also released on various small labels . Stylistically, The Toughest Girl Alive presented different tempos and blues varieties - a mixture of classic rhythm'n'blues (For Vour Love), rockabilly echoes (Je n'en peux plus sans na Cadillac) and post-war crooning (Highway of Tears ) . The next four CDs were released by the German blues label Ruf Records based in Lindewerra , Thuringia : Whole Lotta Love (2003), White Trash Girl (2005), Guitar'd and Feathered (2007) as well as the programmatic compilation Blues Caravan: Guitars & Feathers with pieces by Candye Kane and the blues musicians Deborah Coleman and Dani Wilde . The recordings for Whole Lotta Love took place in rural, north of Los Angeles located Topanga Canyon . Musicians have included the guitarist Charlie Musselwhite , ex- Little Feat - drummer Ritchie Hayward , Canned Heat - bassist Larry Taylor and the saxophonist Brandon Fields. As the title track, Whole Lotta Love contained a cover interpretation of the Led Zeppelin rock classic Whole Lotta Love (based on a blues piece by Willie Dixon ) . White Trash Girl came up with the mix of blues pieces known from Kane. Likewise Guitar'd and Feathered , which in contrast to the previous album was even more influenced by rockabilly elements.

In parallel with her CD releases, Candye Kane expanded her live presence. In the meantime, the singer has performed more than 200 concerts a year - including appearances at well-known jazz and blues festivals such as the Ascona Jazz Festival , the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Waterfront Blues Festival as well as the International Film Festival in Cannes . Due to cancer , she had to cancel a series planned for 2008. After recovering from illness, she returned in 2009 with a new album. Title: Superhero - a work even more strongly influenced than the previous albums by classic blues and rockabilly. Another production at the turn of the decade was an autobiographical musical revue entitled The Toughest Girl Alive . The director Javier Velasco staged Kane's material dramatically. The world premiere took place in January 2011 at the Moxie Theater in San Diego, approximately two years in advance. The musical material, consisting of known and previously unpublished titles, was released as a best-of compilation under the title The Best of Candye Kane. Songs from the Stage Play 'The Toughest Girl Alive'.

In addition, another studio production, Sister Vagabond , was released in 2011 . She not only varied the singer's already familiar spectrum of styles. In addition, the new album also documented Kane's (already successfully established on the occasion of live concerts) cooperation with guitarist Laura Chavez. In terms of title, Sister Vagabond contained the usual mix of own and other songs - for example the Texas shuffle Hard Knock Gal, recorded in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan and accompanied by Rod Piazza on the harmonica , as well as the Johnny Guitar Watson title I Love To Love You . The follow-up album was a self-published live CD together with blues pianist Sue Palmer, another regular tour companion of Kane. Title: One Night in Belgium (2012). Finally, Coming Out Swingin ' from 2013 - also recorded with Laura Chavez - shifted stylistically between Kane-known rhythm'n'blues and guitar-focused rockabilly.

Candye Kane has been nominated several times for the Blues Music Award . In her hometown of San Diego, she received several relevant awards.

Positions, engagement and reviews

As a musician, Candye Kane clearly saw herself in the tradition of the blues. Country and contemporary pop and rock music played a major role in their childhood and youth - Hank Williams , Carole King and Bob Dylan , for example , but also typical 1970s bands such as Led Zeppelin. Kane recalls her musical preferences at the time: “I'm a kid in my late seventies and that was the music we listened to. At the time, the music of the sixties was 'old-fashioned' for us, and only then did I get to the blues via detours. ”As musical influences, she named the singers of the genre in particular: Bessie Smith , Memphis Minnie , Big Maybelle , Bonnie Raitt , Big Mama Thornton and Sister Rosetta Tharpe . Role models for her are the rockabilly interpreters Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin , the country singers Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells , the soul and jazz interpreters Aretha Franklin , Dinah Washington and Eartha Kitt , the show entertainers Bette Midler , Sophie Tucker and Mae West as well as the jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman . She explained her preference for the blues as follows: “I can't say anything bad about the blues clichés. The cliché arose out of a need: by people whose life was so dark that only music lit it up a little. It was the same for me. "

Candye Kane was open about her work in the sex industry as well as her later cancer. After the collaboration with CBS had ended, she made a conscious decision to continue working under her old name - not least because she had already made recordings under it in 1983. She personally described herself as a sex-positive feminist ; her sexual orientation characterized her as bisexual . She showed political engagement above all on the subject of violence against sex workers. On the occasion of the murder of a prostitute in San Diego, she organized a vigil as part of the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers . In addition, she was committed to AIDS patients and children's hospitals and - regardless of her Jewish faith - spoke out against a one-sided view of the Middle East conflict . She repeatedly compared her illness with that of Apple founder Steve Jobs , who was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The illness showed her how finally life was and motivated her to continue working on her version of the American dream.

As for the implementation of her musical projects, Candye Kane was considered a networker. Her eldest son Evan worked as a drummer on both CD recordings and concerts. In addition, Kane worked closely with other blues musicians - in particular the guitarist Laura Chavez and the pianist Sue Palmer, who became a kind of permanent backing band. In addition, Kane performed regularly with the two musicians Ana Popović and Sue Foley - according to an interview, Foley put her in contact with Chavez. In terms of the established blues scene, she saw herself apart from the mainstream. However, she could live with the ignorance of certain parts of the blues scene. In return, she gets a lot of support from the queer , fat girl and rockabilly community. Some blues fans, especially the purists of the genre, should - so Kane's advice - concern themselves more with the importance of sexuality for the history of the genre.

In San Diego and the surrounding area, Candye Kane and her backing band were firmly established. Her qualities as a singer and live performer were also positively, sometimes enthusiastically, highlighted nationally and throughout the USA. The People magazine called Candye Kane as a blues diva who bring bloodless every party into shape. The Philadelphia Inquirer characterized her as a serious, powerful singer who carried everyone away. The Washington Post declared her a "voice like a natural wonder". In Germany , Switzerland and neighboring countries, too, Candye Kane's CD productions and live concerts met with predominantly positive feedback. The online magazine Rocktimes wrote on the occasion of the Blues Caravan tour 2005: “Candye Kane was the star of the evening. She knew it, the audience knew it, the band knew it, and so did Sue Foley and Ana Popovic. But Candye Kane never let it hang out. Of course, the two guitarists came on stage after a few songs and suddenly a 6-person formation started acting. Candye Kane even managed to get the audience to sing along. "

The Swiss blues portal Bluesnews.ch particularly emphasized the change from jump blues to guitar-focused rockabilly, which the new Kane formation celebrated at a gig in 2012. Bluesnews.ch: “I have known Candye Kane since her CD Swango and the follow-up album the toughest girl alive from 2000 made it clear: this woman has a voice that was born and trained for the blues. Her musical versatility was impressive, and she was rightly known for her cheerful jump blues with a pinch of swing. Arrangements like those of the early Candye Kane with brass section and background singers could not be heard at the concert. In addition to the singer, the band only consisted of the power trio John Rautmann on drums, Kennan Shaw on e-bass and Laura Chavez on guitar. "

Discography

Regular publications

• Burlesque Swing (1987; self-publication)
• Home Cookin ' (1994; Antone's Records)
• Knockout (1995; Antone's Records)
• Diva La Grande (1997; Antone's Records / 2005: Ruf Records)
• Swango (1998; Sire)
• The Toughest Girl Alive (2000; Bullseye Blues & Jazz)
• Whole Lotta Love (2003; Ruf Records)
• White Trash Girl (2005; Ruf Records)
• Guitar'd and Feathered (2007; Ruf Records)
• Superhero (2009; Delta Groove Music)
• Sister Vagabond (2011; Delta Groove Music)
• Coming Out Swingin ' (2013; Sister Cynic)

Compilations and live albums

• A Town South of Bakersfield, Vol. 1 (1986; Enigma Records; with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, and others)
• Blues Caravan: Guitars & Feathers (2008; Ruf Records; with Deborah Coleman and Dani Wilde)
• Rich Mans War (2008; Ruf Records)
• One Night in Belgium (2011; no label; with Sue Palmer)

Best of compilations

• The best of Candye Kane. Songs from the Stage Play 'The Toughest Girl Alive' (2011; self-published)

Web links

Commons : Candye Kane  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Candye Kane in the catalog of the German National Library
• Biography info at Ruf Records
• Candye Kane at Allmusic (English)
• Candye Kane at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Singer Candye Kane has died at 54 ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Candye Kane , deltagrooveproductions.com, September 3, 2013 (Eng.)
3. ↑ Candye Kane Is The Toughest Girl Alive , Angela Carone / Maureen Cavanaugh, kpbs.org, January 20, 2011 (Eng.)
4. ↑ Candye Kane , streetswing.com, accessed March 2, 2015.
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Two Hundred Pounds of Fun , David Steinberg, Comes Naturally # 144, accessed November 10, 2018
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Candye Kane , San Diego Reader, accessed March 2, 2015.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Biography Candye Kane , Ruf Records, accessed March 3, 2015
8. ↑ A whole lotta woman! ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Epi Schmidt, home-of-rock.de, November 2, 2003 
9. ↑ Bluescaravan ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , arte.tv, April 7, 2005  
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Is Candye Kane the "Toughest Girl Alive"? , Interview with Candye Kane. Eric Schelkopf, chicagobluesguide.com, accessed March 2, 2015
11. ↑ Candye Kane ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , hietzing.at, accessed on March 2, 2015 
12. ↑ Toughen Up! , Interview with Candye Kane. Brian Lush, rockwired.com, accessed March 2, 2015
13. ↑ Freewheelin 'Presents Candye Kane at Lee’s , kfai.org, accessed on March 2, 2015.
14. ↑ Blues Carav on January 16, 2005, Harmonie, Bonn , rocktimes.de, accessed on March 2, 2015
15. ↑ Frauenpower in the Volkshaus , bluesnews.ch, March 19, 2012