Janiva Magness
| Janiva Magness | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 30, 1957 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | Electric blues, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1980s-present |
| Labels | Various including NorthernBlues, Alligator, Blue Elan. |
| Website | http://janivamagness.com/ |
Janiva Magness (born January 30, 1957) is an American blues, soul and Americana soul singer and songwriter. To date, she has released twelve albums.
The Blues Foundation named Magness the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year in 2009, becoming only the second woman, after Koko Taylor, to be so honored. The award was presented by the late B.B. King himself and Bonnie Raitt. In 2014 she released her first album of all originals entitled Original which earned her the award for Song of the Year. To date, she has earned seven Blues Music Awards with 25 similar nominations.USA Today stated, "Magness is a blues star."
Magness was born in Detroit, Michigan, but suffered the tragedy of losing both of her parents to suicide before she reached her mid-teens. Placed in a series of a dozen foster homes, Magness was pregnant at the age of 17, and gave her baby daughter up for adoption.
Having been initially inspired by the music in her father's record collection, an underage Magness attended an Otis Rush concert in Minneapolis that changed her outlook. Magness later recalled, "Otis played as if his life depended on it. There was a completely desperate, absolute intensity. I knew, whatever it was, I needed more of it." Studying to become an engineer, she worked in a recording studio in Saint Paul, Minnesota, when she was coerced into doing some backing singing. Her work, which included backing Kid Ramos and R. L. Burnside, led her to Phoenix, Arizona and in forming her own band, the Mojomatics. They enjoyed local success before Magness relocated in 1986 to Los Angeles. Her first album "More Than Live" was released in 1991, her second release titled It Takes One to Know One, was released in 1997. In 1999, Magness starred in a stage production of It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, at the David Geffen Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.
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