2009-11-12 (Creation date: 2009-11-12)

Tillery, Linda; Hollinden, Andy

Andy Hollinden interviews Linda Tillery during the AAAMC conference, "Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music."

Indiana University, Radio and Television Services

Archives of African American Music and Culture

Bloomington; Indiana; United States

Reclaiming the Right to Rock: Black Experiences in Rock Music

Archives of African American Music and Culture

English

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1 video file (mov, 35 min., 45 sec.) : sound, color ; 9.46 GB + 1 transcript (9 pages)

Before becoming a prominent figure in women's music in the 1990s, San Francisco native Linda Tillery began her singing career in the 1960s with the gender and racially integrated psychedelic/soul band The Loading Zone, which was modeled somewhat after Sly & the Family Stone. After two albums with that band, Tillery released her solo debut, Sweet Linda Divine, on CBS in 1970 to enthusiastic reviews and high praise. She spent most of the 1970s singing and playing drums on over forty albums, including those by Mary Watkins and Teresa Trull. Having become a staff musician and producer at Olivia Records, Tillery released her second solo album, a self-titled effort, on the label in 1978, garnering a Bay Area Music Award for Best Independently Produced Album. Tillery has twice gone on to win Bay Area Jazz awards for Outstanding Female Vocalist. In subsequent years, Tillery collaborated with female musical powerhouses including June Millington, Deidre McCalla, Barbara Higbie, and Margie Adam, as well as on the Olivia Records 10th anniversary album, Meg/Cris Live at Carnegie (1983). In 1985, Tillery released Secrets on her own 411 label which returned her to center stage. In recent years, she has assembled a large band, Skin Tight, which plays jazzy, funky blues. She has also performed with the ZaSu Pitts Memorial Orchestra and has branched out into radio, film, theater, and television commercials. She has worked for the National Endowment for the Arts and appeared with artists ranging from Santana, Kenny Loggins, and Huey Lewis to the Turtle Island String Quartet, Bobby McFerrin, and Holly Near. In 1992, Tillery created the Cultural Heritage Choir as an outlet for her desire to perform the traditional spiritual music of African American slaves and their descendants.

Other: DVF 1021