Album Notes

Donna Hébert's fiddling is a rhythm machine that won't quit."Donna takes no prisoners!" says VT caller/fiddler Amy Cann. Donna's midnight to 7am shift with guitarist Larry Unger at a Brattleboro VT Dawn Dance is contradance legend.
Says Darol Anger, cofounder of the Turtle Island String Quartet, "Donna is one of the most articulate and knowledgable fiddlers I know of, clear and informative. And how she manages to fiddle like that would be perplexing if I wasn't already dancing too hard to think!"

Big Boned Beauty also features Donna's deep and powerful voice on seven original songs, including the title track, a juicy blues about big, beautiful women and "Nana Danced," (her most requested song!) in honor of her French-Canadian grandmother. "Buddy Can You Spare A Dime?", Donna rewrites the original to reflect the experiences of first wives:

"Once I was a chauffeur to my son,
he got to hockey on time -
Now my husband calls me 'wife number one!' -
Buddy, can you spare a dime?"

Also included are other songs inspired by motherhood, including her jazz classic, "Gypsy Moon," and "Mean Molly Blues," with a chorus that wails "DO somethin', mama, DO something!" Donna's "Blessing," written for a friends' birthday, has been recorded by singer-songwriter Lui Collins (Stone by Stone: Molly Gamblin Music) and several others as well.

An untiring ambassador for great tune settings, Donna's "Grumbling Old Woman" tunebook is on dance fiddlers' music stands nationwide, and Donna has been recognized by the Southern New England Arts Consortium as a master Franco-American and contradance fiddler. Students and workshop participants say her teaching really kicks their technique and know-how up several notches, like Rhode Island fiddler Bud Savoie "I can hardly believe the improvement in ease and tone!" and Idaho fiddler and filmmaker Marsha Schoeffler "Donna is probably the best all-around fiddle teacher you'll ever find - or need!"

Donna's dance music pedigree is flawless. Since 1972, she's fiddled for thousands of dances for a long line of callers, including Ralph Page, Dudley Laufman, Duke Miller, Ted Sannella, Tony Parkes (with whom she cofounded Yankee Ingenuity in 1975), Mary Desrosiers, Sandy Bradley, George Marshall, Scott Russell, Charlie Fenton, Brad Foster, Seth Tepfer, Beth Molaro and many others, including Lisa Greenleaf, who said ("No one plays like Donna - her tone, her groove, are incredible!"). Donna has also absorbed the music of her Franco-American heritage from masters Louis Beaudoin and Gerry Robichaud, and loves to share their music.