{"id":30495,"date":"2025-11-01T00:11:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T07:11:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/?p=30495"},"modified":"2025-11-01T11:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T18:32:55","slug":"women-in-blues-and-jazz-sue-foley-shirley-scott-dorothy-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegotroubadour.com\/women-in-blues-and-jazz-sue-foley-shirley-scott-dorothy-fields\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in Blues and Jazz: Sue Foley, Shirley Scott, Dorothy Fields"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUE FOLEY, 1968-<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Sue Foley<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I first met Sue Foley in the early \u201990s, back in Austin, Texas. I was beginning my road days with blues singer Candye Kane, known for her sassy and outspoken persona. Candye was trying and succeeded in getting a record deal with Antone’s Records, which Sue signed in 1989. By 1993, when Candye and I met her, she was a major part of the highly respected Austin blues scene. Mentored by Clifford Antone, Sue was seen by him when she sat in with Duke Robillard\u2019s band during the Memphis, Tennessee W.C. Handy Awards. He invited her to Austin, and she began recording for Antone’s Records.<\/p>\n

Sue was born in Ontario, Ottawa, and spent her childhood in Canada. She began playing guitar at 13, playing in a band at 16, and touring Canada. She toured extensively with blues harmonica player Mark Hummel throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe 1988-89, before relocating to Austin in 1989. Austin was probably most famous for blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who died tragically, in 1990, in a helicopter accident. At that time, the other heavy weights in Austin were his brother guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, guitarist Derrick O\u2019Brien, Sarah Brown on bass, Frosty Smith on drums, Marcia Ball (pianist, singer, band leader), and many more. Some of the singers included LaVelle White, Angela Strehli, and Lou Ann Barton. Through Candye, I got to play with most of these people, either on tour or in casual sit-in situations. One of my favorite tours was one that Antones put together to promote their artists: Candye Kane, Sue Foley, and Lou Ann Barton. We had gigs in Paris, Germany, and Switzerland. The van rides between cities were extremely memorable, as there were a lot of big personalities in one small space! Jon Penner (bass), Freddie Pharoah (drums), and Johnny Moeller (guitar) were also on that tour.<\/p>\n