Big Time Sarah born 31 January 1953

Sarah Streeter (January 31, 1953 – June 13, 2015), better known by her stage name Big Time Sarah, was an American blues singer. A rousing vocalist and dynamic entertainer, she was among the more enterprising contemporary blues performers who built a solid reputation worldwide with regular tours in the U.S. and abroad. 

She was born in Coldwater, Mississippi, and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of alcoholic parents and sought community in a local church, developing her musical talent in its gospel choir.  At age 14, she began singing blues at the Morgan's Lounge Club. Sarah started sitting-in from the late ’60s with Louis and Dave Myers, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Magic Slim and Johnny Bernard.  

                              

It was during 1976 that after hearing Sunnyland Slim in a club, Sarah went to him for advice about her singing which resulted in her touring with his band. It also led to her first solo release, a single on his record label, Airway Records. She also toured Europe annually from 1978 – 1982 with pianist Erwin Helfer and since then on her own. She gained her nickname, "Big Time Sarah,” from a wish she had early in her career. 

When she began touring in the mid-1970s, Streeter was convinced she would make the "big time," becoming a blues sensation by delivering a million-selling album and then a film star.   Dubbed "The Shaker" for her trademark moving and shaking as she strutted across the stage, Streeter became renowned for giving audiences a performance ranging from the sentimental to the sexy. She was a featured performer at many clubs such as B.L.U.E.S., Kingston Mines, and Buddy Mulligan's and appeared at several blues festivals. She teamed with Zora Young and Bonnie Lee in 'Blues with the Girls', Sarah toured Europe in 1982 and recorded an album in Paris, France. 

She formed the Big Time Express in 1989, and made her Delmark label debut, Lay It on 'Em Girls, in 1993. Blues in the Year One-D-One arrived in 1996, followed by A Million of You in 2001 all for Delmark Records. Sarah and her band toured internationally blending risqué blues, soul, funk and jazz. 

Streeter received an W.C. Handy Award nominations, for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year, in 2002 and 2003.She has played at the Chicago Blues Festival, 2002 and 2008, the Efes Pilsener Blues Festival, Moscow, Russia, in 2005, the legendary San Francisco Blues Festival, 2002, Monterey Jazz Festival, 2002 and Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival, 2001. Sarah worked many clubs in the Chicago area and often lent her vocal and fundraising talents to benefits for needy musicians and the homeless. 

Unfortunately, recurring health problems forced this eminently spectacular artist to take it easy. Big Time Sarah died on June 13, 2015, aged 62, from heart complications in a Chicago-area nursing home. She was buried in Burr Oak Cemetery, Alsip, Cook County, Illinois. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, Sunnyland Slim liner notes, Last fm, Sooze Blues Jazz and AllMusic)