Denise La Salle

Unlike so many other blues vocalists who just reinterpret material given to them by songwriters, Denise LaSalle was a seriously talented songwriter. Although her soul-blues style had strong urban contemporary overtones at times, it's best to think of LaSalle as a modern-day Bessie Smith, because that's really what she was. She wrote funny songs full of sassy attitude, and it's an attitude she carried with her on-stage. Off-stage, LaSalle accommodated all autograph seekers and gladly obliged journalists and radio disc jockeys. The Jackson, Tennessee-based LaSalle was raised in...