Biography

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Tim Kolleth
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Ann Rabson, Gaye Adegbalola and Andra Faye, the spirited women of Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women, have never shied from speaking their minds. During the course of their 25-year career, words like ‘fearless,’ ‘inspiring,’ ‘witty,’ ‘joyful’ and ‘powerful’ have been used to describe their smart, sassy, and deeply emotional blues. A review in Ms. Magazine perfectly summed up the band’s incredible rise to the top: “Recipe for success: start with three talented musicians. Stir in rich melodies, honky-tonk rhythms and spicy-hot lyrics. Then add a bucketful of courage, the kind it takes to leave home and career in mid-life. Simmer for a few hours in smoky roadhouses and cheap motels. The result? Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women.”

Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women burst onto the national music scene in 1990 with the release of their self-titled debut album, after six years of playing locally and regionally. With their brazen, no-holds-barred acoustic blues, Saffire took the music world by storm and earned legions of fans of all ages and genders around the globe. The group quickly went from being local favorites to internationally recognized blues stars, sharing stages with Koko Taylor, B.B. King, Ray Charles and Willie Dixon, who said of the band, “They knock me out.” National media like People, Entertainment Tonight, CNN’s Showbiz Today and National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition sang the band’s praises. With seven critically acclaimed albums, a large, loyal fan base, countless awards, and thousands of sold-out shows under their belts, plus a soon-to-be released documentary, Hot Flash, chronicling their storied history, Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women have achieved success beyond their wildest dreams.

With their music Rabson, Adegbalola and Faye reestablish and update the long tradition of uppity women blues singers like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace and Memphis Minnie. Mixing first-rate musicianship with equal parts of sass, soul and humor, Saffire unleashes unforgettable originals, composed with humor and poignancy, alongside definitive versions of classic blues songs. The Los Angeles Weekly says, “Their sweetly raunchy combination of cover chestnuts and outspoken originals turn double-entendre lyrics on their head.” In 1990, Gaye won a Blues Music Award for “Song Of The Year” for her raucous Middle-Aged Blues Boogie, featuring the oft-quoted lines, “an old woman don’t yell/an old woman don’t tell/an old woman don’t swell/and she’s grateful as hell/I need a young, young man/to drive away my middle aged blues.”

Ann Rabson worked steadily as a professional musician and solo artist since 1962, gigging regularly while occasionally holding down various day jobs and becoming a single parent. Twenty-five years ago, Rabson decided to join forces with her guitar student, Gaye Adegbalola (a former award-winning 8th grade science teacher), and Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women began to take shape. After gigging around their hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia and developing a substantial following, the two, along with the band’s original bassist, Earlene Lewis, quit their full-time jobs, pooled their money and recorded an album that they forwarded to Alligator Records’ president Bruce Iglauer. The original songs and the musicianship, but most of all the feisty personality that shone through, impressed Iglauer. Although he had never signed an all-acoustic act before, he couldn’t get them out of his mind. “I kept coming back to the tape over and over,” Iglauer recalls. “I just figured if I enjoyed it so much, other people would, too. But I never expected what actually happened.”

Their debut album, 1990’s Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women, became one of Alligator’s biggest selling releases ever. 1991’s Hot Flash, followed by 1992’s BroadCasting (with Andra Faye guesting on guitar, fiddle and mandolin after Lewis’ departure), took Saffire to even greater heights; Andra’s mastery of all things stringed and her country-tinged vocals added a new dimension to Saffire’s music. Constant touring and increased radio play earned the group new fans everywhere they went. “Even people who don’t like the blues can’t resist them,” declared The Washington Post, while The New York Times hailed them as “post feminist traditional blues, sung and played with gorgeous abandon.”

The band’s subsequent tour and album, 1994’s Old, New, Borrowed & Blue, brought Andra into the band full-time, and their fan base continued to swell. Features in Ms. and other magazines plus an interview on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air spread the word all across the country. Their subsequent albums, 1996’s Cleaning House, 1998’s Live & Uppity and 2001’s Ain’t Gonna Hush! earned the band hordes of new fans and mountains of critical acclaim. And in 2006 Alligator released their “best of” CD, Deluxe Edition.

Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women will tour together for the last time in 2009, to say goodbye to their fans. The CD may be called Havin’ The Last Word, but you haven’t heard the last of Ann, Gaye and Andra; these three are far from hanging up their instruments, and each will continue to perform. The success of Saffire has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. “I feel blessed to have been a part of this wonderful, crazy ride. Saffire has been a life-changing experience for me. My view of music and the world has changed, and being a part of Saffire has opened so many doors for us individually,” says Andra. Ann has already begun making her plans. “I’ve had the opportunity to make music and travel with friends for 25 happy years. With Saffire, the group always came first, but after we retire the band I’ll be free to selfishly explore the blues. I plan to work solo and with as many different musicians and bands as I can.”

Gaye, too, is looking forward to her future, but is grateful for the gifts the band has given her. “The band has given me the honor of making a living doing what I love. The band has given me two of the dearest friends ever—bonded by the magic of the music and the harmony of our hearts. The band has meant that I have been able to take a message of empowerment beyond the boundaries of Fredericksburg to the far corners of the planet Earth.”