HOUSTON - s4story -- This year during Women's History Month, Trudy Lynn will start documenting her own history as work begins on her forthcoming autobiography, to be co-authored with noted blues journalist David Whiteis under a publishing agreement with University of Illinois Press.

Born Lee Audrey Nelms in Houston's Fifth Ward in 1947, Trudy Lynn comes from a musical family: her cousin, the late R&B vocalist Al "TNT" Braggs, was also a songwriter for Bobby "Blue" Bland; another distant cousin, Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins, was a legendary figure in Texas blues who achieved international recognition in his later years.  She began her singing career in the mid-1960s; her first appearance onstage was alongside the legendary Albert Collins, when he spotted her in the audience and invited her to sing with him. While still in high school, she also sang with her classmate Archie Bell and his band of fellow students who called themselves the Drells. Houston was an epicenter of blues and R&B in those days, and Lynn crossed paths with the likes of Johnny Copeland, Big Mama Thornton, Ted Taylor, fabled producer/label owner Don Robey, and many others. Her own recording career began in 1973 for Sinnett Records, and she also recorded for Ichiban, Ruf Records, Jus' Blues Records and Connor Ray Music before joining the Nola Blue roster. She has amassed 16 Blues Music Award nominations and is a two time Jus' Blues Music Awards Honoree.

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David Whiteis began his journalism career in 1976 and focused his writing on Blues after moving to Chicago in the late 1970s. Whiteis contributes to the Chicago Reader, Living Blues, DownBeat and the Jus' Blues Music Foundation, as well as writing his own books.  Southern Soul-Blues, in particular, inspired Blues Hall of Fame member Denise LaSalle to contact Whiteis to help write her autobiography, Always the Queen, which won the 2022 ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thompson Book Award in Pop Music.

"Houston, Texas is one of the birthplaces of postwar blues in the U.S.," says Whiteis.  "Trudy Lynn came of age and forged her style in this musical hotbed; today, continuing a career that spans over five decades as a world-renowned performing and recording artist, she continues to carry on this living legacy with elegance, panache, and undiminished power."

"I am honored to facilitate the development of Trudy Lynn's autobiography," says Sallie Bengtson, president of Nola Blue, Inc.  "While our primary focus is on recorded music, autobiographies are a natural extension of our dedication to honoring musicians and preserving the legacies of those who emerged during the burgeoning rhythm and blues scene in American music history. Trudy's story is sure to educate, entertain and inspire."

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"Twenty years ago," Trudy reflects, "my record with the Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra came out. My song with Rue Davis, 'Everybody's Got a Blues Song to Sing,' was just as relevant then as it is today and it's gonna be the same twenty years from now. That's the blues! I can't wait to tell my story, and I'm glad to be here to tell it in my own words."

The manuscript will be completed by early 2027, and additional updates will be shared as they are available. For more about Trudy Lynn, including Turning the Same Ole Corners, her new album to benefit the mission of the Jus' Blues Music Foundation, visit trudylynn.com.