Nancy Sinatra has released Shelley's song, "Texas
Blue Moon", on her new CD titled: "Nancy & Lee
3". "Texas Blue Moon" is performed by Nancy
Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood. "Nancy & Lee 3"
is currently available on "Warner International Records"
in Australia & New Zealand. The CD was #15 the first week
of release on the Australia country charts. "Texas Blue
Moon" was originally released on Shelley's CD, "The
Highway", in 2002. - US and European release dates
for "Nancy & Lee 3" TBA. -
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January 29, 2004
Austin Chronicle
Phases and Stages - Texas platters
---------------------------------------
By: Margaret Moser
Rockin' the Dancehall (Lemonade)
Shelley King
With a proverbial trunk full of instant hits and yet-unheard
classics, Shelley King could've taken the studio route for
her third CD. Best known for her full-throttle vocals and
a string of tunes made famous by Toni Price ("Tennessee
Whiskey," "Who Needs Tears," "Call of
My Heart"), King takes center stage with both at Texas'
oldest dance hall, Gruene Hall. By planting her crowd-pleasing
compositions right where they belong - in front of a live
audience - the 14 songs burst into blooms of every color,
from blues ("Rainy Daze") to blacktop ("The
Highway"). The shuffle of waltzing feet is almost audible
on "Things You Do," and the only thing missing from
"One Shot at a Time" is the clink of shot glasses
toasting. King's talent lies not just in her fine songwriting
("Running Out of Blue," "One Way Ticket to
Austin"), but also a comfortable rapport with the audience
that comes through in the well-oiled machinery of the Shelley
King Band: Perry Drake, Bonnie Whitmore, Kyle Judd, and Kris
Brown. King keeps their motor revved with a nonstop schedule
of touring and performing, and their proficiency is evident
on tracks such as "High on a Mountain," "Summer
Song," and "Soul Searching." Too often, live
LPs are a way of filling gaps between studio releases or fulfilling
contracts. In the hands of Shelley King and her band of cross-country
gypsies, Rockin' the Dancehall is an exuberant breath
of air.
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RECOMMENDED
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Shelley King and Floramay Holliday
Artz Rib House, Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003
Austin Chronicle - Margaret Moser
"It's a treat to find Shelley King and Floramay Holliday
every Wednesday at Artz Rib House - the smoky aromas of ribs
and fixins permeate their sultry voices. King and Holliday
are distinctive songwriters and of a common mind when they
perform as an acoustic duo, the Jonz Sisters, not to be confused
with their rock band alter ego, Sis Deville. South Carolina-born
Holliday makes a good long, tall Texan: 6 feet tall not including
boots and hat. That same self-assurance imbues her music with
Southern grit and gutsy word punch in song-stories like "The
Fox and the Raven" from her self-titled 1999 CD. Like
Holliday, King can't get enough of the stage. With two excellent
CDs behind her (Call of My Heart and The Highway) and a live
one due for Christmas, King is gathering steam. Her sharp
songwriting has already netted one Austin Music Award (in
2002 for Toni Price's version of "Call of My Heart"),
and at the rate her delicious songs are being nabbed, more
may be on the way. King's sizzle and Holliday's tall drink
of Hill Country water are leaving audiences hungry and thirsty
for more."
Shelley King The Highway, 2002 Lemonade Records
• Austin singer and songwriter Shelley King had
been establishing a solid local following since her arrival
in 1992, but when Toni Price covered two of King's songs
on "Midnight Pumpkin," King's songwriting talent
became firmly established, earning her several Austin
Music Awards. With the release of her second album, King
displays her prowess with the pen as well as her pipes.
King, who has described herself as a naturally happy person,
sounds like she's having a darn good time here, which
is a testimony to how energetic her live shows must be.
Even when she sings of lost love, she sounds joyful and
hopeful. The 12 songs run the gamut from commercially
viable Americana to zydeco to soul- and gospel-tinged
roots music. The first half effectively evokes the wide-open,
sultry landscape of East Texas and Louisiana, but the
songs are not as interesting, musically and lyrically,
as the ones that follow. Most of the songs on the second
half tone down their country element and let more a more
soulful sound through, which suits King's big, un-cryin'-in-your-beer
voice. Much is made in reviews of King's gospel background
(singing in church in Arkansas), and that early training
comes through in her vocals. While King can be ebullient,
she is also capable of singing with a smoky tone of wisdom
to her voice, as in "Walk On" and "Who
Needs Tears", whose lyrics are equally wise.
Not merely a singer-songwriter, King is both singer and
songwriter.
Clarissa Sansone - Country
Standard Time |
• "This sultry diva with a voice bigger than
Texas blends her country with a touch of gospel, some
blues, a sprinkling of southern rock and lashings of soul.
"Eric Black - Blue Country
News"
Read the full review at Blue
Country News in Australia! |
• Toni Price recently recorded an
episode for the 25th season of Austin City Limits
Toni performed two Shelley King songs for that special:
"Call Of My Heart" and "Who Needs
Tears" |
• "Shelley King blends country, rock, and folk
in a way that's pure Americana.
She sings from her soul and the KNBT
listeners love it!"
Mattson
Rainer- KNBT Program Director
KNBT
Radio - New Braunfels, Texas
#1 Americana station in the country -
as reported by GAVIN. |
• "There are songwriters and there are singers.
Rarely does someone with a fantastic set of
pipes come equipped with songwriting chops to match. Shelley
King is an artist whose voice and whose words will grab
your ears and hold them."
Jim
Beal Jr. - KSYM Dj
San Antonio Express News |
• Shelley King - Empire Brewing Co.
- June 16
"Austin, Texas performer Shelley King and her music
showcase the soulfulness of a gospel singer, overtaken
by the fire of the blues within the sensibilities of roots
music. King combines the best of Texas blues, rock, folk
and country with a dynamic stage presence and "energy
that inspires any audience to get up and dance" (Syracuse
New Times). A lifetime of performing in everything from
gospel choirs and musical theater to leading various bands
across the southwest, King has an unmistakable voice.
She tours in support of her most recent release, Call
Of My Heart."
Freetime Magazine
Rochester, NY
June 14
to June 28, 2000 Vol. 24 No. 2
•
Haunted by Joplin's ghost
"second coming of Janis Joplin" "Texas
based singer's got a big voice", "respectable
roots singer playing with straight-forward country, folk,
and blues styles."
Rochester's Alternative Weekly
Vol.
29, No. 38, June 14-20, 2000
• "Shelley King, Austin songwriter returns
to the Empire after a year on the road.
King mixes rhythm'n'blues with a little western music."
Syracuse New Times
June 14-21, 2000
• "Shelley King - Raised on gospel, this roof-raising
singer now merges Texas blues, rock, folk and country
sounds into a compelling whole. She is a favorite on the
musically fertile Austin scene." Saturday June 10,
12am. Chicago's on Queen St.
NXNE and
Toronto's NOW Magazine
Toronto's
Alternative Weekly - June 10, 2000 |
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