Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women Coming Down to the Final Farewell

When Gaye Adegbalola first performed on stage as a member of Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women, she did so before a hometown crowd in Fredericksburg, Va.
The year was 1984, the crowd small. But a spark caught that night.
“It was like, ‘Hmm, we might have something special here,’ ” Adegbalola said.
Twenty-five years later, the “something special” that is Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women is embarking upon their farewell tour.
Fans can see the famed blues trio on May 2 at the Renaissance Center in Kingsport, Tenn., on the second of two nights of the Red, Hot and Blue Revue II.
“Heretofore, we always put Saffire first,” Adegbalola said last week by phone from her home in Fredericksburg, Va. “Saffire was the priority, is the priority.”
However, as solo careers for the band’s three members grew, available time for Saffire shrunk. For example, Saffire’s most recent and final studio album, “Having the Last Word,” was issued in January, their first new studio album since 2001.
“All three of us are doing different things,” Adegbalola said. “So, we’re going to go our separate ways, and I think it will give our fans three times the opportunity to see us. For me, I’m 65. Lord willing, I might have 10 more good years.”
But let’s look back, beginning with their first show.
“One thing I remember, we were paid $350,” said the former eighth grade science teacher and Virginia State Teacher of the Year for 1982. “That was a lot of money for an off-night.”
Saffire maintained the gig at the small Fredericksburg club for several years. Word spread, and crowds grew.
“Then in 1988,” Adegbalola said, “we jumped into the deep end of the pool and started swimming.”
Translated, a self-issued album in 1987 led to a recording contract with Alligator Records, the leading blues label in the country. Their subsequent self-titled first album in 1990 for Alligator hit with a slugger’s swing.
Home run, Saffire.
“We caught on right away,” Adegbalola said. “[The song] ‘Middle Aged Blues Boogie’ caught on, and it put my son through college. I won a Handy [award] for it. Our second album, ‘Hot Flash,’ was reviewed in People magazine.”
Late blues legend Willie Dixon chimed in with the acclaim when he said, “They knock me out!” He wasn’t alone.
Saffire’s bawdy brand of blues followed a long line of strong-talking, hand-on-hips female blues singers such as Ma Rainey.
Check their song titles. From the wickedly brash “There’s Lighting in these Thunder Thighs” to the self-assured swagger of “Is You is or is You Ain’t My Baby?” to albums with titles like “Ain’t Gonna Hush.”
There’s sizzle in Saffire’s style.
“A lot of people say we’re bawdy,” Adegbalola said, “but we’re not as bawdy as what you can find on VH-1.”
Not for much longer, anyway. Saffire’s final show of what they are calling their legacy tour will fittingly stage where they started, in Fredericksburg, in November.
That leaves time to look back, reflect and relish their blues powerhouse of a band.
“What’s important, we were women in our mid-40s, and we did it,” Adegbalola said. “Ann and I put in 16-hour days when we first started. To us, success was making the music and having it touch somebody.”

IF YOU GO
What: Red, Hot and Blue Revue II
When: May 1-2, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Renaissance Center, 1200 E. Center St., Kingsport, Tenn.
Admission: $20 per night for adults, $18 per night for students and seniors
Info: (423) 392-8417
Web and video: http://www.uppityblueswomen.com
Audio: http://www.uppityblueswomen.com/recordings.html
Also: http://www.myspace.com/redhotandbluerevue

SAFFIRE – THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN
Gaye Adegbalola – Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Ann Rabson – Vocals, piano, guitar, kazoo
Andra Faye – Vocals, bass, fiddle, mandolin, guitar

RED, HOT AND BLUE REVUE II SCHEDULE
—May 1 – Barrelhouse Chuck, Lightnin’ Charlie, Harmonica Todd, The Billy Crawford Band and an All-Star Jam finale
—May 2 – Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women, Ann Rabson, E.G. Kight, The Billy Crawford Band and an All-Star Jam

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .