Laura Love (musician)
Encyclopedia
Biography
Love was born Laura Jones in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
in 1960. She is of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, and Caucasian
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
descent. Love had a difficult childhood, raised by a mother with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
and in foster homes
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
. Her father, who had little involvement in her life, was the jazz musician Preston Love
Preston Love
Preston Haines Love was a renowned alto saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska.-Biography:Preston Love grew up in North Omaha and graduated from North High....
who played sax with Count Basie, Lucky Millander and Johnny Otis and formed his own band in the 1950s. Love's mother, Wini, had been a singer in Preston's jazz band.
Career
Love began her performing career at age 16, singing for the prisoners at the Nebraska State PenitentiaryNebraska State Penitentiary
The Nebraska State Penitentiary is a state correctional facility for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Located in Lincoln, it is the oldest state correctional facility in Nebraska, opening in 1869...
. Love relocated to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, where she was a member of the late 1980s rock group Boom Boom G.I. She was also a member of an all-female band, Venus Envy.
After Love released three albums on her own label, Octoroon
Quadroon
Quadroon, and the associated words octoroon and quintroon are terms that, historically, were applied to define the ancestry of people of mixed-race, generally of African and Caucasian ancestry, but also, within Australia, to those of Aboriginal and Caucasian ancestry...
Biography, Putumayo
Putumayo World Music
Putumayo World Music is a New York City based record label, now specialising in compilations of music from various nations, regions or musical styles which may be classified as world music.-Etymology:...
released a collection of her songs. Her album Welcome to Pagan Place included the controversial song "I Want You Gone", about George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. She published an autobiography, You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes, with an accompanying album of the same name, in 2004. Her style has been described as "Afro-Celtic" and has also been influenced by bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
.
Discography
- Z Therapy (1990)
- Pangaea (1992)
- Helvetica Bold (1994)
- The Laura Love Collection (1995)
- Jo Miller and Laura Love Sing Bluegrass and Old Time Music (1995)
- Octoroon (1997)
- Shum Ticky (1998)
- Fourteen Days (2000)
- Welcome to Pagan Place (2003)
- You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes (2004)
- NēGrass (2007)
- The Sweeter the Juice (2009)