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Article
on Cathy in a BRITISH
BLUES MAGAZINE interview - Issue Feb. 2022
By Blues Broadcaster Ian McKenzie
[READ
ARTICLE]
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CATHY'S
LIVE RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE ON SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS LABEL
An
album Cathy Ponton King was part of (Blues Compilation)
has been acquired by the Smithsonian, Cathy's version
of "TORE UP" -- Recorded live at "CITY
BLUES" club in Washington DC.
Wayne Kahn, the owner of Right On Rhythm label in
DC, recorded the artists on this CD, which is now
available through the Smithsonian FOLKWAYS RECORD
LABEL.
To
purchase the CD or just Cathy's song, click
here!
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"If
you love American music, then this book cannot
be missed and deserves a place in your book
library"
from
Vincente Zumel, Blues DJ and harmonica player
and now Author in Spain.
There's
a section included on Cathy Ponton King
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BLUESERAS,
ROCKERAS, SOULERAS ...
365
Reseñas Discográficas: Un Disco
Para Cada Día Del Año
By
Vicente Zúmel
(In
Spanish)
Editorial Lenoir
Año 2020
22 €
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It is a tribute and homage to all women who,
with their musical art, contribute to spread
African-American music
Some
of the women who are mentioned in the book pages
are well known, some other ones are less known,
but they all love what they play and give the
best of themselves to perform and sing the blues
and American music with passion and commitment.
Here
comes a book totally devoted to the great work
that 365 women have done and do in blues music.
You
can order it asking directly to the publisher
at:
https://www.lenoir.es/blues/2958-blueseras-rockeras-souleras.html
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Happy
to have this new song on CD baby for sale; sharing
proceeds with CANCER CAN ROCK.
Great organization that pays for artists facing cancer
to go in the studio. I love the way this turned out.
It's very hopeful and a song about resilience. The
musicians were the top notch guys in DC and beyond.
Jim Ebert, produced and did keyboards and even sang
some. My husband Jeff, a producer in his own right,
was also there for arrangements and backup vocals.
I
hope people go find this on CD Baby and purchase and
be inspired. 1st time I've tried a download only single......
Happy to share this news, with you, my friends and
loved ones and music folks out there.....
New
song available on CD Baby.com. Thank Jim Ebert producer
... from Cancer Can Rock. Great band "NO FRICTION,
NO FIRE" Proceeds donated to CCR. Buddy Speir,
Mike Melchione, guitars (wow).Eric Scott, bass, Andy
Hamburger, drums. Sean Russell the magic at CUE in
Falls Church. Great artwork from CINDY KUNST -
if you look closely, you'll see a HEART that formed
in nature - in the embers.
Jeff's
eye caught that and we flipped the image to put the
heart on top.
We
always play and record with heart.
Buy
a copy, dazzle for the ears. I wrote this song about
overcoming and resilience. BEAT CANCER!
TO
PURCHASE: PURCHASE CD through SOULSPEECH@HOTMAIL.COM
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CURTIS
POPE, ANTOINE SANFUENTES, MIKE MELCHIONE, CATHY PONTON
KING
JOHN PREVITI, RON HOLLOWAY, SAM PALADINO
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Photo
Credit: Larry Benicewicz
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Bobby
Parker with the Cathy Ponton Band
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Sorrow for the loss of a great guitarist and BLUES
GUITAR LEGEND BOBBY PARKER, my friend (who just did
a show with my band Oct. 5th at the Bethesda Blues
and Jazz Supper Club) who died suddenly of a heart
attack at the end of October - He has gone to rhythm
and blues heaven.
Not enough words to express my appreciation for his
kindness and generosity to me, and respect for his
great accomplishments. The photo of myself with Bobby
Parker's band was at Adams Morgan Day, a huge street
festival in Washington. He was kind to sit in with
my band on several occasions and including our theatre
show Oct. 5th.
God Bless and rest you Bobby Parker!
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New
EP/CD - "QUARTET / DUET"
Produced by Jeff King
Recorded, Engineered,
& Mastered by Scott Shuman
at Shuman Recording - Falls Church, VA
*
* * * * * *
$10 plus $2 postage and handling
TO
PURCHASE CD:
Click here!
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"QUARTET
/ DUET"
It's
two original songs I wrote and invited some fantastic
singers in to harmonize with me. 1st song is with my
great singing girlfriends, Sista Pat, Mary Ann Redmond,
and Caz Gardiner. It's four women testifying the blues.
"That's
When a Woman Calls the Blues by Name"
Second
song is me in a duet with the great Joe Triplett - for
years his smooth soulful voice led the Rossyln Mountain
Boys. It is called, "FAMOUS LAST WORDS" -
Gut wrenching country/blues with soulful piano by Bill
Starks.
~
Cathy ~
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A
big thanks to BAARN
FM for playing Cathy Ponton King in
the Netherlands! Love you Madly!
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Many
thanks to Ms Irene R Barret for featuring me way down under
on
Cairns
FM 89.1 - Made my day! - CK
Visit
the Cairns FM 89.1 Website!
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REVIEW:
The Crux
BALTIMORE
BLUES SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
JUNE 2012
FAIRFAX
VA based singer and guitarist Cathy Ponton
King has been flying beneath the radar for well
over
two decades despite a heavy work schedule (a longtime fixture
at Madams Organ and now Flanangans
Harp & Fiddle in Bethesda, Md).
Perhaps in the past this lack of public perception could be blamed
upon a
paucity of significant recorded output -- her first CD, LOVIN
YOU RIGHT came but in 1993, her
"message in a bottle", which actually proved durable
and had a long shelf life.
But now there should be no more excuses for her lack of renown
in the blues community after having released the acclaimed UNDERTOW
in 2007 and the brand new THE CRUX, the latter especially, which
should go a long way to rectify this recognition issue. Maybe
she's not quite yet a household name locally but King has absolutely
no problem being the featured artist on the airwaves in far off
Australia or Argentina and furthermore, doesn't have to twist
arms to engage blues legends such as (in this case) guitarists
Ronnie Earl and Jimmy Thackery, sax stalwart Ron Holloway, and
ex-Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk bassist Butch Warren, all
who generously contributed their time to see this project through
to its fruition.
And yet another feather in Ms. King's cap is her ability to both
attract and maintain a great supporting cast of musicians, including
erstwhile Danny Gatton and Big Joe Maher bassist, John Previti
,drummer of five years, Antoine Sanfuentes (whose day job is NBC
news DC bureau Chief) and the virtuoso pianist Bill Starks, a
treasured member of King's group for
over 20 years.
At
least two of the reasons that King's catalogue of albums is relatively
limited for her long time spent immersed in the blues are both
her insistence on perfection in the studio and that the selections
be original compositions (with extremely few covers). Moreover,
what she writes is memorable, derived from intensely personal
but universal experiences which translate into confessional feeling
ballads. "Naturally, I'm inspired to write from what life
lays before me but also the tiniest phrase may set me off to write"
she said in an interview. And while well versed in the blues (having
been inspired by and weaned on the music of Muddy Waters, Albert
King, and Willie Dixon), she proved again in THE CRUX that you
don't have to play standard 12 bar blues to be considered a blues
singer (although she's very capable of executing some of the authentic
gut bucket variety if the occasion demands).
When
I asked Ms. King why she chose the title, THE CRUX, for this undertaking,
she mentioned that
this CD represented the word in all its definitions, including,
"an essential or deciding point" or
"crossroads", whereby she could thereafter take the
positive course or she could try to take bull by the
horns, so the speak, to surmount a "difficult problem"
at that juncture of her life. And amazingly enough,
THE CRUX, for the most part is indeed a concept album (remember
them?) ---unified by the idea of
shouldering on, or rising above, a bleak or negative situation
that someone of her mature perspective
is bound to encounter just by enduring long enough on this earth.
And
the key words throughout this endeavor are "loss" or
"change", be it dealing with or overcoming
the death of someone , personal (possibly unspecified career)
setbacks, or a relationship
turned sour. For example, in the achingly heartfelt, "Tattoo
on My Heart", King ambiguously mourns
the passing perhaps of a close friend (the song is dedicated to
late jazz chanteuse and mentor,
Clea Bradford), or of a lover --gone but not forgotten (the name
metaphorically etched).
In
"Cerulean Blues", King wishes to divest herself of her
many cares and woes and throw them
in the deep blue sea and start anew. In the rollicking "Blues
Companion", King wants to begin afresh
with a new love and is ready to go wherever he(or the road) takes
her.
And
in the zydeco infused (courtesy of the accordian work of Tom Corradino)
"I Want You to Be Happy",
King acknowledges that life is too short for sorrow and she must
find a way to stay upbeat and strive with all her might to let
the good times roll.
Three
of the four songs which conclude the CD, the deep bluesy "Sweet
Change to My Heart", the funky
"Bridges that You Burned", and the melancholy "I'm
Suffering", are thematically joined by the notion
that whatever untoward had transpired before, a new love would
be able to both heal and be one's
salvation.
And
this "new love" might take the form of the joys of a
new found tranquil , bucolic existence versus
the petty annoyances of the grimy, noisy city life left behind
in the breezy, jazzy,
"Little House in the Country".
So,
THE CRUX, is about all but coping. As King, with longing and anticipation
in her heart, expresses
in "Sweet Change to My Heart", she's sailing and moving
on to distant happier shores.
And
somewhere beyond that sea, better days, she swears, will be coming.
It's a message of hope.
And
in these troubled times, it's something we sure can use a little
more of.
~ Larry Benicewicz ~
Baltimore Blues Newsletter, June 2012
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Chesapeake All Music Guide - May 2008
Artist: Cathy Ponton King / Title: UNDERTOW / LABEL: LONG GONE
Undertow is a showcase for Cathy Ponton King's talent and versatility
as a singer/songwriter. Taking credit for eight of the 12 tunes
on the album, she offers up a varied selection of hard driving
rock, easy listening adult contemporary and a little jazz, all
carried out with equal aplomb. One moment she's rocking as hard
as she can, as she does on the rousing Little Bridge,"
and "Champagne Days are Over," a couple of horn-driven
rockers, and the next she's in adult contemporary mode with
"Can't Let You Walk Away" and "Let Me Be the
One
"
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Read Full Review ~
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Blues
Arts Studio - Review of "Undertow"
Artist: Cathy Ponton King / Title: UNDERTOW / LABEL: LONG GONE
It's hard enough to create a new album even when you've got all
the time in the world. For Vienna, VA-based singer/guitarist Cathy
Ponton King, it's been particularly a struggle, actually a labor
of love five years in the making wherein she's had to make time
nearly each night for this endeavor while juggling the roles of
working mother and career woman-not to mention frequent entertainer.
"It was like giving birth," she says. But knowing Cathy,
it's always been a matter of quality rather than quantity.
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Read Full Review ~
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Blues
Revue Magazine - April/May 2008
Cathy Ponton King / Undertow / Long Gone Records
Cathy Ponton King's 1992 debut, Lovin' You Right, was a stylish,
stirring effort replete with excellent tracks like "Sweet,
Sad and Lonely" with fine guitar work by Jimmy Thackery,
the disc successfully announced Ponton King as a talent to watch
Her second disc finally has arrived, 15 years later, in the form
of the sharp, moving Undertow. Despite her long absence from the
studio, Ponton King hasn't been idle.
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Read Full Review ~
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Washington
Post Review of Undertow
CATHY PONTON KING Undertow Long Gone - Friday, January
25, 2008
Horns riffing, piano pumping, organ grinding - Cathy Ponton King's
latest collection of original songs opens with the gospel-fueled
shouter "Little Bridge." Its brassy jubilance stands
out, thanks to several Washington-based musicians, but its spiritual
tone foreshadows many of the songs to come, including the piano
ballad "Let Me Be the One" and the soul groove "Comfort
and Blessings."
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Read Full Review ~
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Bluesville
Magazine
Translation of a Dutch review from Bluesville, an online Americana
blues music magazine
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Read Full Review ~
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