Quick Facts
Biography
Lady Bianca (born August 8, 1953) is an American electric blues singer, songwriter and arranger. She has worked as a session singer, depicted Billie Holiday on stage, and since 1995 released six solo albums, three of which were nominated for a Grammy Award.
She is currently based in Oakland, California.
Life and career
She was born Bianca Thornton, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. She was the eldest child, with two sisters and one brother.
Her first exposure to music was through gospel, and she studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her first professional gig was with Quinn Harris and the Masterminds, when she was aged 17. Harris dubbed her 'Lady Bianca', and the combination contributed two tracks to a compilation album released by Reynolds Records in 1970.
In 1972, she played the role of Billie Holiday in the San Franciscan stage production of Jon Hendricks' Evolution of the Blues. In the mid 1970s, she worked in various clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she met the bass guitarist Henry Oden. They were subsequently married for 15 years. She then joined Sly and the Family Stone as backing vocalist and keyboard player, and appeared on their 1976 album, Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back. Starting in October the same old">Brian Morrow
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