SANDRA WRIGHT

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Vermont-based blues and soul singer Sandra Wright began singing gospel in her native Memphis at age four. She majored in music at Tennessee State University and after winning a local talent contest, she got an offer from the National Black Opera Company to join them on a European tour. But she also simultaneously received an offer to join a Nashville R&B group, the Canned Souls. She took the latter and joined them on the road for the next three years. The group was named Cashbox magazine's "Newcomers picked to click in 1969-70'' for their single, 'Unbelievable'. That group split up in 1971, and Wright spent the next 17 years performing in clubs around Nashville. She also recorded several singles for Truth Records, a subsidiary of Stax.

She also sang on numerous radio and TV jingles throughout her time in Nashville, and in 1986, she joined the Nashville Minstrel Players. In 1988, she performed her one-woman play/tribute to Bessie Smith at the Chattanooga Music Festival. By 1990, she was working as the lead singer for another Nashville R&B group, Bordello, leaving for half a year to open for Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown. After her touring with Brown, Wright formed her own group and toured the country. The Sandra Wright Band recorded their debut in 1992 and later that year relocated to Vermont. Her 1995 album Shake You Down is available on the Hipshake Records label.

Wright continues to tour with her blues and soul group and also tours with a jazz trio from her home in Vermont.
Biography by Richard Skelly (Allmusic)