Album Notes

"Soul Diva Meets the Blues Monsters," recorded in 1994, marked the recording debut of Portland, Oregon vocalist Linda Hornbuckle. Which is remarkable given that this incredible singer was already in her thirties at that time. When legendary drummer Bernard Purdie (Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, Miles Davis, etc.) walked into a Portland nightclub that same year and heard Linda for the first time, he was stunned. "The way her fingers move on the microphone and her eyes go back in her head--she goes somewhere else. I hadn't seen anything like it since my days working with Aretha." Not that Linda really sounds like Aretha Franklin-Linda's style is very much her own. But she has a similar impact on listeners. This may be due to the two singers' shared roots: both were the featured soloists in their minister fathers' churches from early childhood. In Linda's case, she began singing in her father's Grace & Truth Pentecostal Church in Portland at age 6. But by her late teens, she was sneaking out of the house to sing in nightclubs. And by her 20s, Linda was Portland's most sought-after back-up singer, recording and touring the U.S., Canada, and Europe with national acts including Quarterflash and Nu Shooz. She later fronted a popular Motown revue, "Body & Soul," and in '92 became lead vocalist with the No Delay Band, with whom she recorded "Soul Diva Meets the Blues Monsters." Reviewers of this CD had much the same reaction as Bernard Purdie did when he heard Linda for the first time. Blues Revue called her, "A phenomenal vocalist who could hold her own against Aretha Franklin or Natalie Cole." And Living Blues wrote, "Hornbuckle is a big-voiced singer who cuts loose in the finest gospel tradition and brings a dynamic sense of drama to her material...Hornbuckle is not well-known outside the Portand area, but she should be." With the recent release of Linda's live recording with Bernard Purdie, "Purdie Good Cookin'" (also available at CD Baby), that wider recognition may finally be coming Linda's way. Listeners to "Soul Diva Meets the Blues Monsters" will agree that it's long overdue.