Shirley Jackson & Her Rockin' Daddys

ECMA nominated vocalist and tenor saxophonist Shirley Jackson – with her Good Rockin’ Daddys – has been a staple performer on the North American jazz and blues circuit for over a decade. Her raucous vocals and unparalleled saxophone playing has made her a jazz festival favourite. FULL BIO Toronto Maple Blues Award recipient - Horn Player of the Year (2003). Shirley has been a featured performer on the blues scene throughout Canada and the United States since 1997. Settling in the Maritimes from Western Canada in 1988, Shirley Jackson has been honing her craft on stage with The Good Rockin’ Daddys as well as The Dutch Mason Blues Band, Joe Murphy & The Waterstreet Blues Band, A.J. & The Redhots, Theresa Malenfant, Frank Mackay & The Lincolns, Glamour Puss Blues Band, The Twisters, and the annual “Ladies in Blue” concert in Halifax. “Listen to your heartbeat, Listen to your soul And know deep inside that’s where you truly want to go” Children know at a very young age what it is they want to be and do but are discouraged from being dreamers. “What do you want to be when you grow up”, they ask. But in your knowing heart that you want to be a singer, songwriter, musician and the response is, “That’s nice but what are you going to do to make a living?” My first music teacher was kicked out of music class because his teacher told him he couldn’t sing. He proved her wrong by learning how to play any instrument that had strings on it; guitar, banjo, mandolin. He gave my two sisters and I guitar lessons when I was nine, and my brother banjo lessons for a gallon of milk a week. In fact he hand crafted our first electric guitars and built my brothers banjo out of a brake drum. Definitely a banjo to sit and play. I have great memories of my father playing his lap steel guitar and harmonica and my mother always encouraged us to sing by entering us in the local talent shows. At the age of ten we had our first family band covering everything from The Tennessee Waltz to The Ventures performing at the local country dances. PERSONNEL: Shirley Jackson - vocals/tenor sax CONNECTIONS The Dutch Mason Blues Band, Joe Murphy & The Waterstreet Blues Band, A.J. & The Redhots, Theresa Malenfant, Frank Mackay & The Lincolns, Glamour Puss Blues Band, The Twisters QUOTATIONS "Shirley Jackson, excellent tenor saxophone and singer, presents her first solo album with his group the usual Good Rockin 'Daddys. Jackson combina con gran acierto la tradición del Texas blues con el jump y el swing y el resultado es magnífico y explosivo. Jackson combined with great wisdom tradition of the Texas blues with the jump and swing and the result is magnificent and explosive." Vicent Zumel - Radio PICA/ La Hora del Blues "Shirley Jackson with her sassy sax has just garnered Canada's highest blues award, a Maple Blues Award for Horn Player of the Year. The covers she has selected are top notch, and her eight originals are seamless." Sheila Gavin - Are You Blues LATEST RECORDING: Comfort Food / 2007 CURRENT RESIDENCE: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada