The decision to launch Women of the Blues Records wasn’t the culmination of a lifelong dream for Lynn Orman. It was more an urgent matter of her believing Chicago blues belter Mary Lane’s new album Travelin’ Woman was so exceptional that it demanded to be heard. If that meant starting a new label to bring Lane’s CD to the public as an extension of Lynn’s Women of the Blues Foundation, then that’s precisely what Orman would do.

“It just sort of organically happened,” says Orman. “Mary remained a blues fixture on the local scene, underrated and unknown amongst her peers. Now is her time to tell her story, to share her voice with her second CD. It is such an honor to have her on Women of the Blues Records. I hope it can help raise awareness of who she is, to have her music played on radio stations around the world, for Mary and her No Static Blues Band to get more dates playing out and to be recognized by music organizations like the Blues Foundation. Because Mary Lane is the real deal.”

Mary Lane

About

A longtime staple of Chicago's West Side Blues circuit, singer Mary Lane was born November 23, 1935 in Clarendon, Arkansas. After honing her skills in local juke joints in the company of Howlin' Wolf, Robert Nighthawk, Little Junior Parker and James Cotton, Lane relocated to Chicago in 1957; backed by Morris Pejoe, she soon cut her debut single "You Don't Want My Lovin' No More" for the Friendly Five label. A favorite among peers for her dulcet tones, she nevertheless did not record again for several decades, remaining virtually unknown outside of the Chicago Blues faithful.

Track List

1. Travelin’ Woman

2. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More

3. Leave That Wine Alone

4. Some People Say I’m Crazy

5. Raining in My Heart