Artist: Susan Tedeschi

Susan Tedeschi 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 formed the Susan Tedeschi Band in 1993, with Tom Hambridge and Adrienne Hayes. Eventually, Tedeschi was opening for John Mellencamp, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers Band, Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan. In 2000, Just Won't Burn (1998) reached Gold record status for sales of 500,000 in the United States, rare for a blues production. She recorded two tracks with Double Trouble band members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon for their album.

She opened for The Rolling Stones in 2003 and played in huge venues, gaining national exposure. In 2004, Tedeschi was featured on the PBS television program Austin City Limits with William Green on Hammond organ; Jason Crosby on keyboards, violin, and vocals; Ron Perry on bass; and Jeff Sipe on drums.

While in New Orleans opening for the Allman Brothers Band on their 1999 summer tour, Tedeschi met Derek Trucks, the band's slide guitarist and bandleader and lead guitarist of The Derek Trucks Band. In addition to a personal relationship, Tedeschi and Trucks then toured together frequently under the name Soul Stew Revival. This included members of The Derek Trucks Band, members of Tedeschi's band, and other musicians who travelled with them, including Trucks' younger brother, drummer Duane Trucks. In 2008, they added a three-piece horn section.

In 2010, Tedeschi and Trucks announced a hiatus for their solo bands, and formed a new group called Tedeschi Trucks Band. The group performed at a number of festivals including Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, Fuji Rock Festival and others. Unlike their previous collaborative project – Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi's Soul Stew Revival – the Tedeschi Trucks Band focuses on writing and performing original material and is the focus of both Trucks and Tedeschi for the foreseeable future.

In 2001, Tedeschi married Derek Trucks. They reside in Jacksonville, Florida.

Tedeschi's voice has been described as a blend of Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin, both of whom she claims as influences. Her guitar playing is influenced by Buddy Guy, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King and Doyle Bramhall II. On the album Just Won't Burn (1998), she lists a multitude of inspirations from various genres, including Irma Thomas, Etta James, Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, Aretha Franklin, Otis Rush, Ronnie Earl, Otis Clay, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Dennis Montgomery III, Orville Wright, Walter Beasley, Kenya Hathaway, and Mahalia Jackson.

Photography credit: eedub13, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

This content was excerpted from the Wikipedia article, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Tedeschi, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).