A few years ago “Lady Blackbird” (aka Marley Munroe) burst onto the Jazz scene. When she was a child her parents listened to artists like Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Kool and the Gang and gospel singers like Andraé Crouch. When her mother realized Marley could sing she used to follow her around with a tape recorder. She has kept all the tapes of her as a small child singing and reciting various songs and nursery rhymes.
Marley got her start by performing at family gatherings, church, funerals, weddings, fairs and even sports events. At age 12 she traveled back and forth to Nashville after signing with a Christian record label and, as a teenager, she toured the U.S. performing in arenas with Toby Mac from “DC Talk.”
Before starting her career as Lady Blackbird, Marley Munroe explored other musical styles, eventually finding her Jazz-tinged calling as Lady Blackbird. Her debut single, Blackbird, a cover of a 1963 song by Nina Simone about the struggles of being a black woman, was released in May 2020. Her 2021 debut album, Black Acid Soul, received many 5 star reviews and she recently won ‘International Artist of the Year’ at the “Jazz FM Awards.”
Lady Blackbird’s latest single release, Woman, is new this week on RadiJohan.