Luigi's 50's & 60's Vinyl Corner: Byrdie Green

Byrdie Green (1936 – April 26, 2008) was a jazz and R&B singer born in Detroit, Michigan.The daughter of a Baptist minister, she sang first in her father's church. Later she went to New York City and performed in clubs. Around 1965, she was hired by organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith and recorded albums for Prestige Records, Roulette Records, & Twentieth Century Fox. She also cut a few 45rpm records.

Byrdie Green (real name Bertha Greene) is a big-voiced jazz singer, today unjustly forgotten. Her father was a Baptist preacher. She made several singles and 3 LPs: "The Golden Thrush Strikes", "Sister Byrdie" and "The Stinger Meets the Golden Thrush" (with Johnny "Hammond" Smith). Byrdie Green has been singing around New York since the 1950's. She has a clear, forthright voice that can turn sly and cutting ˆ la Dinah Washington. She is a soul sister, and she never lost sight of her roots in blues and gospel music. Her 1968 rendition of "Return of the Prodigal Son" is the perfect mix of gospel, jazz and soul. Delivered with the authority of a preacher, and the soul of a diva, the story from the Bible is told, brilliantly. She allegorically uses this Biblical fable as a means to comment on the very obvious wealth discrepancy she saw all around her in late sixties America. In 1985 and 1996 she performed in the USA and all over Europe with Linda Hopkins and Maxine Weldon in a show entitled "Black and Blue".

Enjoy Byrdie's strong and impressive style!.....( Info Edited From Egroj World )

1. In The Dark

2. Going Out Of My Head

3. Hurt

4. Gin House Blues

1. How Long Blues

2. Falling In Love With love

3. The Shadow of Your Smile

4. Hurt So Bad

5. Somebody Groovy