Diunna Greenleaf
| Diunna Greenleaf | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Diunna Fay Greenleaf |
| Born |
October 6, 1957 Houston, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Texas blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | Late 1990s-present |
| Labels | CD Baby |
| Website | Official website |
Diunna Greenleaf (born October 6, 1957) is an African American blues singer and songwriter.
At the 2014 Blues Music Awards, Greenleaf won the Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female), beating fellow nominees Teeny Tucker, Lavelle White, Trudy Lynn, and Zora Young.
Diunna Fay Greenleaf was born in Houston, Texas, United States. Her parents, Ben and Mary Ella Greenleaf (née Travis), were religiously devout and involved in gospel music. Her early musical influences included Sam Cooke, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Koko Taylor, and Aretha Franklin. Before her musical career, Greenleaf obtained a degree in Mass Communications at the Prairie View A&M University.
Greenleaf and her backing band, Blue Mercy, have performed on the international stage for a number of years. In 2005, they took part and triumphed at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.
She was President of the Houston Blues Society for three years, becoming the first woman to undertake that role. Greenleaf initiated the now annual Houston Blues Society Founders Day, and continues to support the Blues in Schools Program. She was also one of the founders of the Friends of Blues Montgomery County.
She performed as a backing vocalist for Pinetop Perkins, on his segment of the Grammy Award winning album, Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas (2007). The same year Greenleaf and Blue Mercy issued their debut studio album, Cotton Field to Coffee House.
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