Three Generations of Blues Shared the Belly Up

The Belly Up became a meeting place for three generations of singers when Big Mama Thornton, Sippie Wallace and Jeannie Cheatham performed for the KPBS production Three Generations of the Blues. Each singer had her own portion of the program before they came together.

In Hamilton College’s Jazz Archive, Cheatham recalled proposing the combination and then springing the finale on the other two women. Their exchange grew from the moment, with the singers answering one another rather than following a rehearsed script.

The television recording carried a Solana Beach club performance well beyond the room. It also preserved the three women as collaborators: different careers and approaches to the blues, sharing one stage and finding something to do together.

Explore Belly Up Tavern on CouchLot.

Sources: hamilton.edu; ranchandcoast.com.