Francine Reed born 11 July 1947

Francine Reed (born July 11, 1947, in Pembroke Township, Illinois, United States) is an American blues singer, solo artist, and regular singing partner of Lyle Lovett since the 1980s and member of Lovett's Large Band. Reed has also recorded duets with Willie Nelson and Delbert McClinton and others. 

Reed’s career was cemented on the foundation of a musically rich family. Her father was a gospel singer and her sister Margo Reed became a noted jazz singer. As the youngest of six siblings, Reed began performing at the age of five as a member of the family’s gospel group. In her twenties she relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, and began singing at nightclubs alongside her sister Margo. 

While in Phoenix, Reed set the standard by which other local talent was judged. She often performed as the opening act for such headliners as Miles Davis, Etta James, Smokey Robinson, and the Crusaders. Widely known for her powerful voice and commanding stage presence, she sang an eclectic repertoire of jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues. 

Making the acquaintance of Texas musician Lyle Lovett, who was virtually unknown at the time, in a Phoenix nightspot proved beneficial for Reed. In 1985 she began touring as a background vocalist and occasional duettist for Lovett, whose records would soon receive Grammy Awards and enjoy gold and platinum sales. Reed’s tenure with Lovett included duet appearances on many television shows, including The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Reed and Lovett performed together for forty years. 

                                    

In addition to singing with Lovett, Reed performed on Willie Nelson’s acclaimed album Milk Cow Blues (2000), lending her soulful voice to the title track as well as to the song “Funny How Time Slips Away.” She has contributed vocals to other musicians’ recordings as well, including those of Delbert McClinton and Roy Orbison. 

Reed demonstrated her musical prowess as a solo artist with several albums of her own after arriving in Atlanta. Her first solo album, I Want You to Love Me (1995), featured a duet with Lovett. The album peaked at number seven on Billboard’s blues chart and prompted the first of several W. C. Handy Award nominations for Reed. Her second album, Can’t Make It on My Own (1996), features a duet with McClinton. In 1997 Reed was inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame, and her third record, Shades of Blue (1999), met with critical acclaim. 

Reed is perhaps best known for her performances of the classic blues song "Wild Women (Don't Get the Blues)", written in 1924 by Ida Cox. A recording of this song appears on Reed's albums, I Want You to Love Me, and Blues Collection; as well as on Ichiban Records Wild Women Do Get the Blues and Lyle Lovett's Live in Texas. 

In 2001 following the demise of Ichiban Records, which left her first two records out of print and unavailable, Reed and longtime collaborator Marvin Taylor re-recorded some of her best material live in the studio and released the results as I Got a Right!...To Some of My Best. 

In 2014 she was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. In 2016 she moved back to Phoenix and prior to her “retirement from touring in 2022”, she appeared with her bands Jazz Alive and Fever at venues such as The Boojum Tree, Chuy’s and Chuy’s Next Door/The Night Club, Churchill’s Pub and Bombay Bicycle Club, plus numerous festivals and concert halls. But never fear, Francine fans, the singer is still performing when the mood — or the right offer introduces itself and can be still be found singing at the best local clubs and resorts in Phoenix. 

(Edited from New Georgia Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Eldridge Atlanta & Joseph Berg)