Valerie Wellington
| Valerie Wellington | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Valerie Eileen Hall |
| Born | November 14, 1959 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Maywood, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Chicago blues, electric blues[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | Late 1970s–1992 |
| Labels | Flying Fish |
Valerie Wellington (November 14, 1959 – January 2, 1993)[2] was an African-American singer who, in her short career, switched from singing opera to singing Chicago blues and electric blues.[1] On her 1984 album, Million Dollar $ecret, she worked with Sunnyland Slim, Billy Branch, and Magic Slim.[3] She also worked with Lee "Shot" Williams.[2]
Biography
She was born Valerie Eileen Hall in Chicago, Illinois.[1] She was trained as an opera singer and graduated from the American Conservatory of Music,[4] but in 1982 she took up singing the blues in Chicago clubs.[1] She also worked in theater, playing roles portraying earlier blues singers, such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Her opera training enabled her to project her voice to theater audiences.[1] She appeared at the 1984 San Francisco Blues Festival, on a bill with Marcia Ball and Katie Webster.[5]
Her recorded work blended a traditional vaudeville approach with a contemporary Chicago blues format. Wellington made few recordings, but her voice was used in advertisements on television and radio.[1] Her recording of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" was used on the soundtrack of the 1989 film Great Balls of Fire!, in which she briefly appeared, depicting Big Maybelle.[6] In the same year, she toured Japan with Carlos Johnson.
Wellington died of a cerebral aneurysm in Maywood, Illinois, in January 1993, at the age of 33.[2] She was interred at the Restvale Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois.
Million Dollar $ecret was reissued by Rooster Blues in 1995.[3]
Discography
| Year | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Million Dollar $ecret | Flying Fish |
| 1991 | Life in the Big City | GBW (Japan) |
See also
References
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- Allaboutjazz.com
- African American Registry at Aaregistry.org
- Valerie Wellington at the Internet Movie Database
- Valerie Wellington at Find a Grave
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- Pages with reference errors
- Articles with hCards
- 1959 births
- 1993 deaths
- American blues singers
- African-American female singers
- African-American opera singers
- Chicago blues musicians
- Electric blues musicians
- Deaths from intracranial aneurysm
- Singers from Chicago, Illinois
- American film actresses
- African-American actresses
- American musical theatre actresses
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century American singers
- American Conservatory of Music alumni
- 20th-century opera singers
