The original vocalist for the Airplane was this young lady. She had a voice every bit as powerful as her replacement however she would not command the same stage presence . This tune is deemed as Signe's signature song. After her departure the band would not play the song again out of respect for her. Sing it Signe!
Chauffeur Blues is a song written by Lester Melrose. It was originally called Me and My Chauffeur Blues and performed by Memphis Minnie and covered by many other artists.
The Jefferson Airplane version of this song is on the Jefferson Airplane Takes Off album with Signe Anderson as the lead vocalist. It is performed at a faster tempo and uses only three of the four verses. Anderson performs this song with strong contralto vocals. According to Jeff Tamarkin, author of Got A Revolution! The Turbulent Flight Of Jefferson Airplane, Chauffeur Blues was picked by Signe off an album by South African folk singer Miriam Makeba. It was not included among the repertory of Jefferson Airplane's early gigs and performed only occasionally. It was last performed by the Airplane on October 15, 1966, concert recorded as "Signe's Last".
An extended version of the song is included on the remastered version of Jefferson Airplane
1 comments:
Signe Toly was a great singer. Grace Slick couldn't sing at all, but was a charismatic, as everyone knows. I always preferred the Signe era psychedelic Jefferson Airplane over the Grace Slick era hard rock Airplane. If you listen to high quality live recordings with Signe Toly, it becomes difficult to listen to Grace Slick's nails across the chalkboard voice.
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