“First Rate Singer” - The Hollywood Reporter “Sexy, funny, sweet, sultry, and intense all at the same time” - New Times L.A. “Nelson made me loosen my tie and swab my fevered brow” – Orange County Register“Sarah Jane is a natural singer of the highest caliber, a dynamic communicator, and her ability to own an audience is astounding. Truly a joy to work with…” - Hawkeye Herman“A knock ‘em dead singer, Nelson is a sultry blonde who can zero in on the ache in a lyric.” - The Miami Herald Sarah Jane Nelson’s relationship with the blues is rooted in her upbringing in Monroe, Louisiana. “In junior high school I came across a boxed set of Robert Johnson music at the local record store. Eric Clapton, one of my favorites, endorsed the set saying Johnson was ‘the most important blues musician who has ever lived.’ Those recordings were like nothing I had ever heard, and I was drawn to the simple production that let the remarkably honest storytelling shine through. Suddenly I realized where all the popular rock and country music I loved had originated.” Years later, working in New York City as a professional actress, Nelson was cast in “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues,” at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. With a sold out extended run, that show, which chronicled the history of blues music, was Nelson’s first taste of singing the blues professionally. A year later, Nelson performed in an Off-Broadway production of “El Paso Blue,” a play with a blues score written by Michael “Hawkeye” Herman. When Sarah Jane and Hawkeye came together to rehearse the music, it was “love at first jam,” and they have been playing together ever since. “I adore Hawkeye as a person, an artist, and a collaborator. He sees something special in me, and that has been a great source of inspiration on my journey into blues. This music is where I’m from and where I live. I love the sound, the songs, the storytelling, and the unwavering strength that is at the core of all blues music.”“Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues” was inspired by Sunday afternoon blues jams at the home of Hawkeye Herman (www.hawkeyeherman.com). All tracks were recorded LIVE at Freeman Sound in Ashland, Oregon with no-frills production to capture the ambiance of a backporch jam and let the storytelling shine through. It also features harmonica with Big Irv Lubliner and Tom Freeman on percussion. TRACK LISTING1.Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues (Ida Cox) 2:53Nelson was first introduced to Cass Elliot’s version of this song while performing with Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas, and she was blown away by the lyrics. “For a song written way back in 1924, I’m amazed by Ida Cox’s guts! It was not an easy time to be an assertive woman and she was fearless.”2.Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out (Jimmie Cox) 3:21Sarah Jane dedicates this song to her father, Phil Nelson, who played it on the guitar throughout her childhood. She was significantly influenced by her upbringing in a home filled with country, blues, bluegrass, folk, and classic rock music, and those influences can be heard in the variety of her musical interests today.3.I Put a Spell on You (“Screamin” Jay Hawkins) 3:03This stripped down arrangement of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic captures the intensity of a woman scorned with a bare bones guitar/vocal arrangement.4.St. Louis Blues (W.C. Handy) 4:58Nelson first performed this W.C. Handy classic in “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues” at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia. Nelson didn’t originally sing this particular song in the show, but when a fellow performer lost her voice just before showtime one night, Nelson stepped in to sing both of their vocal tracks. “I didn’t even know if the words would come out right because I had never officially learned the song. When it was time to sing that number it just happened, and the energy of the crowd was amazing. It was a memorable and exhilarating moment!” “St. Louis Blues” has been a highlight of Nelson’s blues repertoire ever since.5.Sweet Home Chicago (Robert Johnson) 2:57This Robert Johnson tune kicks off many of Nelson’s backporch blues jams with Hawkeye and Big Irv.6.Stormy Monday (Aaron “T-Bone” Walker) 4:50Nelson is a big fan of this T-Bone Walker standard, as sung by the late Eva Cassidy on her “Live at Blues Alley” CD. One of Nelson’s favorite female singers, this recording is dedicated to her memory.7.Baby What You Want Me to Do (Jimmy Reed) duet with Hawkeye Herman 2:37This Jimmy Reed classic is performed as a duet with collaborator Hawkeye Herman.8.Nature Boy (Eden Ahbez) 3:55“Nature Boy” became a #1 hit for eight weeks in 1948 for Nat King Cole. Nelson and Herman arranged this blues version, as they were drawn to the powerful lyrical message that transcends genre, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return…”9.Stormy Blues (Billie Holiday) 2:32Nelson’s earliest blues inspiration was the great Billie Holiday. This song speaks of resilience in hard times (and the beat always gets the crowd dancing.) 10.Long As I Got You (Sarah Jane Nelson – ASCAP) 3:58Nelson wrote this song just days before recording it for the CD. “I wanted to inspire the hundreds of thousands of couples who are suffering in their relationships because of financial challenges in the current economic recession. At the end of the day, the ‘stuff’ in life just doesn’t matter as much as the people we love. We all just gotta hang on to each other and get through.” 11.Hound Dog (Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller) 2:10“Elvis sang this song about a dog, but Leiber and Stoller (and the great Big Mama Thornton) knew it was really about a no-good man, waggin’ his tail - wantin’ somethin’ for nothin’.”12.Summertime (George Gershwin / DuBose Hayward) 6:18“This sticky, slow version of the Gershwin classic is sure to transport you to the Louisiana bayou of my childhood.” A tall glass of cool sweet tea may be necessary for listening.13.Trouble In Mind (Richard M. Jones) 2:41“Trouble in mind I’m blue, but I won’t be blue always. Sun’s gonna shine in my (back) door someday.”