Shelby Lynne changes her tune
Musician’s latest work honors Dusty Springfield
Shelby Lynne’s musical role models include Willie Nelson and Tony Joe White, reflecting her Southern, country roots.
Yet Lynne goes a completely different direction with her most recent – and most popular – recording, “Just A Little Lovin’,” with the subtitle, “Inspired by Dusty Springfield.”
It includes songs made famous by the great ’60s British chanteuse, including “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” and “The Look of Love.” Yet Lynne puts her own, sultry, jazzy stamp on them.
“She uses her own phrasing and rhythmic sensibility,” writes critic Thom Jurek in the All-Music Guide. “… Lynne’s delivery takes these songs straight to the listener’s belly.”
“Somebody told me early on, ‘You have to do your own thing,’ ” said Lynne, in a recent telephone interview.
She’ll be performing many of those Springfield tunes when she arrives at the Fox on Tuesday, as well as her varied repertoire from two decades as a recording artist. She came from a musical family in southern Alabama and has been singing since she was a kid.
“I grew up listening to mainline old rock ’n’ roll and country,” said Lynne. “Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Willie Nelson.”
When did she know she wanted to be a musician?
“As soon as I could think,” she snapped.
She arrived in Nashville at age 18 and before long, she was a professional country singer, collaborating with some of the biggest names in the business.
“I’ve known Willie Nelson as a friend for 19 years,” said Lynne. “And Tony Joe White, he paints a picture as well as tells a story.”
Yet her musical interests have always ranged far beyond country. She loves jazz, particularly Nancy Wilson and Miles Davis.
So she changed directions at the turn of the millennium and re-invented herself as a pop, torch, Americana and roots-rock singer. She won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2001, surprising only in that she had already been on the country charts for 10 years.
Then Barry Manilow – another old friend – suggested that she tackle the Dusty Springfield repertoire.
“I said, ‘Why not?’ ” Lynne explained.
She hadn’t discovered Springfield until late, but she fell in love with the music’s honesty and emotional power. She and producer Phil Ramone went to work putting her own stamp on the songs, backing them with a small quartet – or even just a lone guitar.
Lynne always has had a reputation for distinctive phrasing, never more so than with this album. Among her influences: Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra, two of the masters of the art.
“I love it when the singer leads the band instead of the other way around,” she said.
Often, “leading” means being slightly behind the beat, in the manner of Lee and Sinatra.
“It’s always a little better to be a little bit slower,” said Lynne. “It adds drama.”