Susan Tedeschi

Susan Tedeschi (/təˈdɛski/; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks' band, and other musicians.

Tedeschi was born on November 9, 1970, in Boston to a family of Italian ancestry and grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Dick Tedeschi, granddaughter of Nick Tedeschi, and the great-granddaughter of Angelo Tedeschi who founded Tedeschi Food Shops, a New England–based supermarket and convenience store chain. Susan made her public debut as a five-year-old understudy in a Broadway musical. As a youth, she sang for family members and listened to her father's record collection of old vinyl recordings of musicians such as Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin' Hopkins. Growing up Catholic, she found little inspiration in the church choir and attended predominantly African-American Baptist churches, feeling that the music was "less repressed and more like a celebration of God." In bands since the age of 13, Tedeschi formed her first all-original group at 18, the Smokin' Section, in the nearby town of Scituate.

After graduating from Norwell High School in Norwell, Susan Tedeschi attended the Berklee College of Music, where she sang in a gospel choir. She performed show tunes on the Spirit of Boston (a ship) and received her Bachelor of Music degree in musical composition and performance at age 20. During that time, Tedeschi began sitting in on blues jams at local venues and immersed herself in the Boston music scene.

Tedeschi formed the Susan Tedeschi Band in 1993, with Adrienne Hayes, Jim Lamond and Mike Aiello. In December 1995, the band released Better Days to regional audiences. The 1997 recording sessions produced by Tom Hambridge were acquired by Richard Rosenblatt for his indie label Tone-Cool Records. The result is the first album released in February 1998 under the sole name of Susan Tedeschi; Just Won't Burn, featuring young guitarist Sean Costello, received very positive reviews, particularly from critics and blues publications.

Tedeschi was the first artist to play Michele Clark's first Sunset Sessions in March 1998 at the Marriott Hotels & Resorts in the United States Virgin Islands. In 1999, Tedeschi played several dates in the all-woman traveling festival Lilith Fair organized by Sarah McLachlan. Throughout 1998 and 1999, she extensively toured the United States and drew larger crowds.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.