Roxanne's Biography

I’ve been singing all my life, starting around 5 and then on and on. You know, singing into hair brushes, singing with the radio, in the shower and with the stereo, when nobody was home! And there were many influences. Where to begin. Listening to Mom’s Spanish records when I was little, that taught me the Latin moves, we do love to dance. Mom also listened to Sarah Vaughn, Dina Washington and Barbra Streisand. LOVED them! Now Barbra Streisand was the BIGGEST influence. Funny Girl is the movie that had so much impact and influence on me. Still the greatest music movie for me. Another big influence would be Judy Garland. What a beautiful voice and so much heart. However, before Barbra, MOTOWN, wow. MOTOWN, SOUL, and R&B was a tremendous influence for me. Diana Ross & the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson (crazy about him), Roberta Flack, the Temptations, all the soul groups like the Stylistics, Delphonics, War, Jackson 5, Sly & the Family Stone, the Four Tops, just all the 70’s soul. The greatest! And I need to devote an entire line to the greatest, STEVIE WONDER. I’ve learned so much from him and spent many hours listening and singing with him. Then of course, the BEATLES. Paul was my fave, John next fave. Wow! Not much more to say about them. Love, love, love...Still love Paul... I love the folk music of the late 60 ’s & and 70&, and Southern rock, love The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels & so many more. The blues of Eric Clapton, Derek & the Dominoes, Cream, Muddy Waters, BB King, Albert King, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Ray Charles, and a big fave of mine, Billie Holiday. I loved Billie Holiday and sang with her albums for countless hours. That really stayed with me. I studied voice and the music I worked with was jazz. I learned and loved many jazz standards. Peggy Lee was a singer that combined blues and jazz, so sultry and emotional. Anita Baker, another fave, I wore out a few of her albums. Sarah Vaughn is so smoky and inventive. Ella is the master, cool and creative as can be. So much music, so many influences. What is a good voice? Is it a singer’s range? How strong and powerful can he/she sing? Good looks? Oh lord... What I can tell you is this: a voice is a sound that transcends your physical world into the world of your heart. If somebody’s voice is connecting with their heart and you’re feeling it, that’s singing. If the sound and words of somebody’s voice makes you feel happy, sad, thoughtful, reflective, sexy, if it gets into your soul, that’s magic. And that is the point!

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