As
the only daughter of Southern parents reared in poverty, Brenda Linton
became aware at a young age of her mother's dreams for her - that she
would have red hair and would sing and dance like Shirley Temple. Today,
although the petite redhead has some great moves on the dance floor,
she is best known for a voice so pure and melodic that fans have dubbed
her the "Carolina Nightingale."
Born
in Washington, North Carolina, Linton says she was raised by "a
passel of kind-hearted women, including my mother, grandmother, maternal
aunts, and housekeepers who treated me as their own." Her mother
overcame childhood polio to train as a registered nurse and began working
at the county hospital when Linton was still an infant.
Her
father, who spent part of his own childhood in a Baptist orphanage,
was a source of understanding and strength in later life. But in her
early years, his work as a master plasterer frequently took him away
from home, even to the island of Bermuda. "Part of my dad's compensation
was a month in paradise for my mom and me," says Linton of the
experience, "and I guess my love of the road began there."
The
singer/songwriter is taking to the road again to promote her first long-player
and indie debut, "THE SECRET." The album's 12 songs reflect
a range of genres from her earliest influences of roots and classical
music to her coming-of-age with folk and protest songs to more recent
affairs with jazz and gospel. Co-produced and mixed by John Plymale
(Squirrel Nut Zippers, Claire Holley, Caitlin Cary), "THE SECRET"
is a showcase of Linton's talents as a guitarist, pianist, writer, arranger,
and producer. "John knows how to draw the best out of musicians,"
says Linton of her co-producer, "He helped me to get comfortable
and to use my personal history to really feel what I was singing."
Using a combination of live recording and overdubbing, Linton and Plymale
supported her emotive playing with lush background vocals and a rich
palette of lead instruments, including mandolin, penny whistle, harmonica,
fiddle, electric and slide guitar, dobro, and saxophone.
Although
Linton remembers hearing lots of music during her early childhood, her
formal education began at the age of eight when her parents bought her
a Wurlitzer spinet and a set of classical piano books. She demonstrated
a quick aptitude for music and, encouraged by her piano teachers, took
top honors in juried competitions at the nearby university and won lead
parts in school musicals and plays.
By
adolescence, Linton had developed a list of favorite singers (Perry
Como, Paul McCartney, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell) whose influence
would later emerge in her unique vocal style. In high school, she taught
herself to play guitar and formed a duo with a girlfriend that expanded
into a folk trio called the New Horizon Singers. By her mid-teens, Linton
was performing regularly in college coffee houses.
After
graduation, she joined an established folk-rock group called Warm. Linton's
voice as well as the innovative harmonies and original songs provided
by the other three members set the band apart from most local acts in
eastern North Carolina. For two years, she was able to earn a living
performing throughout the southeast in music clubs, rock festivals,
and college venues, and opening concerts for recording artists such
as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Rare Earth.
When
Warm broke up, Linton decided to pursue her childhood dream of living
in Europe. She traveled in Switzerland, Italy, and France before settling
in London. She established a musical relationship with another songwriter
and recorded demos that were nibbled at by a British record label but
the deal eventually fell through. Meanwhile, she supported herself by
working in pubs, Carnaby Street clothes shops, and betting establishments.
While
in London, Linton also tried some new directions which were short-lived,
including singing with a heavy metal band. Homesick and lonely, she
turned to songwriting. "During that period, I wrote songs to try
to understand myself better," Linton recalls, "and I wrote
songs about stories I heard from the people I met." One of these,
an account from an Irish friend about a supernatural encounter, would
later become the title song for "THE SECRET."
The
six original tracks on "THE SECRET" demonstrate Linton's skill
at creating provocative music that touches both heart and mind. Bargain
Love and The Good Life provide opposite views of the same phenomenon
- how living a borrowed life only alienates us from ourselves and others.
The jazzy Quiet Love touts the wisdom of finding our own answers rather
than relying on popular culture.
Warriors
and Still in This World are perhaps the most personal songs on the album
and movingly express the depth of Linton's sorrow at losing her mother
to breast cancer in 2004 as well as the belief that there is still much
to recommend the world - a belief made more poignant by her own triumph
over the disease a year earlier.
The
tune for Warriors was written by Thomas Walsh, a gifted composer and
multi-instrumentalist living outside Dublin. "I happened upon his
lovely melody, Innisheer, and knew it would be the perfect complement
for my lyrics," says Linton. "When I called him to get permission
to use the tune, he was at home with the flu; but he was very gracious
and we found we had a lot in common. Music often allows perfect strangers
to quickly get down to the important stuff."
Since
the singer/songwriter returned to the United States, she has performed
and recorded with a variety of musicians and producers in several locales,
including Nashville. For over a decade, she was a member of the Angelettes,
a three-woman vocal group whose harmonies brought much delight to listeners
as well as the singers themselves.
Most
recently, she has collaborated with musicians and songwriters in the
Chapel Hill/Durham area, many of whom contributed to "THE SECRET."
One of her biggest thrills has been finding opportunities to play with
her brother and youngest son, talented musicians in their own right.
Linton
feels lucky to have been given the resources to perform and record music
that she believes in. And while singing will always be the first love
of the Carolina Nightingale, these days her passion is to continue to
evolve as a songwriter. "These songs describe the many ways that
love manifests in life - with both painful and joyful results,"
says Linton about her album. "Even so, everyone has thoughts and
experiences that are very private and only surface indirectly. And it's
that mysterious territory that I love to explore."
