Songstress Style: Texacala Jones, the Cowpunk Queen

Well, I just saw Border Radio the other night, and the Tex cameo reminded me of how much I love that rough 'n' tumbleweeds deathrock goddess!!!



My favorite Horsehead tracks:
Oh Mother
Big House Part III
Lucky Hand

songstress style, obscure edition: linda manning

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Oh Linda Manning, you're a mystery. A few cute rockabilly tunes from her can be found on YouTube, but just two photos have turned up in my extensive Google Image Searching, and nary a clip from the Linda Manning Show which this obituary says she lead. What gives? Why didn't anyone preserve any more vestiges of Linda Manning? Oh well, her elusiveness kinda heightens her mystique.

I first stumbled upon her portrait many and many a year ago (in a kingdom by the sea) and included it in this round-up of hillbilly fillies. Since then, she's always been in the back of my mind when I am getting ready before the mirror, because she is actually Perfection and if I could only have one "look" for the rest of forever I would choose her exact hair & makeup style, the end.

Behold: the 1960s country-singer kitsch is obvious, from her piled-high hair to that cool ruffled dress. Then there's just the right hint of dark glamour in her heavy cat-eye liner and long inky-black tresses.

Now, here's the only other picture I could find of Ms. Manning, but it doesn't disappoint:

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A big-haired country singer who can also bring the Liz Taylor Old Hollywood glam factor?!

Instant style icon status for Linda!

Here are my favorite songs of hers; she had a cute li'l voice, like a rockabilly Annette Funicello!

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From Birmingham, AL's own wiki site:

"Linda Elane Manning Grissom (born November 24, 1946 in Cullman; died December 18, 2005 in Cullman) was a country and pop singer. 

Manning recorded a half-dozen tracks for Tennessee-based Doke and Bulletin Records in the late 1950s and earned a spot as a featured singer on WAPI-TV in Birmingham, and hosted her own radio program from Cullman. In 1964 she was featured alongside Lee Stover and Tony Bellus on Cincinnati, Ohio's WLW-TV music variety program "Jamboree". 

She married baseball player, actor and minister Mel Novak in Birmingham in October 1968 and lived with him in Hollywood, California."

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Do you have a mysterious style icon who haunts ya?  A long-forgotten girl in a vintage snapshot with the best outfit, or a two-bit movie extra who just had "It"? I think these shadowy almost-fell-through-the-cracks people are even more fascinating than the well-known stars, don't you?

Songstress Style: Cindy Wilson and Lady Miss Kier

These dolls took the campiest, kookiest, and most delightful elements of '60s fashion to a fabulous new level... and their music isn't half bad either. Crack out the powder blue eyeshadow 'n' the teasing comb, and let's have some fun this weekend!!

 

songstress style: nikki lane

Lately I've been listening to this honky tonk songbird over and over; her music makes for the perfect summer soundtrack! Miss Lane has a distinctly retro outlaw-country sound, drenched in pedal steel & twang, and yet refreshingly new. Oh.... and she also has the most splendid '60s desert drifter style and big country hair.

Songstress Style: The Black Belles

Last Fall I became quite enthralled by the Black Belles' first single here; unfortunately, they seemed liked a mysterious flash-in-the-pan gimmick. How happy was I to find out that they are not only legit, but they have a whole album that just came out! I get the feeling Jack White is more than a little involved with production... but is that such a bad thing? Their goth-garage-girl group sounds are swell, and their dramatically witchy looks are nice as ice.

If you dig, buy their new LP.

PS: Happy 11-11-11!!!!!!!

Songstress Style: Loretta Lynn

Today marks the birthday of one of my first style icons: the wonderfully talented Loretta Lynn. Vintage pictures and video clips of Loretta in the 1960s were a large part of what inspired me to start seeking out vintage dresses for myself in high school. Her early Nashville cowgirl style and dreamy curled bouffants still inspire me to this day. I mean, just look at her hair; that is perfection, my friends.

Seeing as the coal miner's daughter is celebrating her birthday today, let's take a look at her cute country style.

(☞ click on images to enlarge, if you like ☜)

(These pictures are from all over the internet; if you see an image here that's yours, just let me know and I'll remove it right away!)

Songstress Style: The Secret Sisters

The word is out about the Misses Laura and Lydia Rogers: musical luminaries like T. Bone Burnett and Jack White have endorsed these sister songbirds and produced their tracks, and they're currently on tour with Ray Lamontagne. I first heard about these lovely ladies over at Q's Daydream this fall, and ever since then I've been smitten with their old-fashioned close-harmony tunes and adorable vintage aesthetic. Their traditional country and Americana songs ring with authenticity, for the girls are indeed a modern Carter Family act: prior to the audition that landed them their record deal, they'd never performed outside of their church in their rural Alabama hometown! They seem so refreshingly earnest, and they have serious talent as well, with sibling harmony chops to rival the Everly Brothers.

And if their rootsy old-time country songs aren't enough to sway you, check out their victory rolls, perfect red lipstick, and cute 1940s looking print dresses! They are always turned out in a lovely retro style reminiscent of the rural Southern landscape and dusty country music halls from which their lyrics sprung. Their sweet style and sweeter songs are so inspiring to me this spring!

Songstress Style: Tracee Mae Miller of Blanche

In case my blog's title didn't tip you off, I love music and take a lot of style inspiration from many of the famous (and not-so-famous) musicians of country and American roots music. This blog's getting a bit dull and narcissistic, I think, with just pictures of me all the time, so I'm going to start shaking things up every Friday with a little style feature on some of the fashionable and talented songstresses I admire!

First up: the lovely Tracee Mae Miller, of Detroit-based alt-country band Blanche.

If you've seen the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line, you may remember her in her cameo as Luther Perkin's wife, seen playing bridge with Vivian (she had the cute Bettie Page bangs!). You'll almost certainly remember her husband, Dan Miller, who played Luther himself. The stylish couple actually dress in the most amazing vintage ensembles all the time, and have a fabulous alt-country band as well. I love Tracee Mae's ethereal Victorian and Edwardian inspired looks, though the entire band's sepia-toned look is so wonderful. They're also close cohorts of the White Stripes: Tracee plays Jack White's red-headed bride in the Hotel Yorba music video, wearing a rather amazing ruffled dress!

Even if their haunting Southern Gothic sound isn't your style, their music videos are endlessly stunning: abandoned houses, ruffled dresses, and autoharp? Yes, please!

Also be sure to take a look at Ms. Miller's beautiful paintings:

http://www.traceemiller.com/

Have a great weekend; we've got a little February thaw going on here this weekend, so I'm off to soak up as much premature springtime as I can!