Marcia Ball

The Boston Globe described her music as "an irresistible celebratory blend of rollicking, two-fisted New Orleans piano, Louisiana swamp rock and smoldering Texas blues from a contemporary storyteller." Ball has spent fifty years touring and gigging in her adopted home of Austin. She has released eighteen records in a career that provided endless good times to anyone listening. She gave a great performance at every show, and won over her audiences with skilled piano and effective singing, not to mention rock solid bands backing her up.

She first recorded in 1972 with Freda and the Firedogs, an Austin country band. That record, which is excellent, wasn't released until 2002, apparently due to the band refusing to sign with Jerry Wexler and Atlantic. It's a weird story, and seems to have no logical explanation. 

Her first record under her own name was Circuit Queen in 1978 for Capitol. Not available for streaming, the record is available on YouTube, and it's more country than what is to come. It's OK.

Her real debut that features the kind of music she would continue to make for the rest of her career was made for Rounder in 1984, the very fine Soulful Dress. In many ways the record  sounds like she could have produced it any time during her career. Her formula of New Orleans-styled piano, good time Texas boogie and blues, and soulful blues and ballads is all here. It includes fine covers as well as her gifted songwriting. Soulful Dress was followed by Hot Tamale Baby 1985 and Gatorhythms 1989, which included more of her own songs. All three are well worth hearing and are available for streaming.

In 1990, Marcia Ball, Lou Ann Barton and Angela Strehli made Dreams Come True, and the music lives up to the name. Barton was a blues belter that fronted Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble and Roomful of Blues early on. Angela Strelhi is a blues singer/guitarist of note, and the three of them combined for a swampy blues and R&B manifesto that stands as a classic today. Not to be missed.

Ball followed that with Blue House 1994 and Let Me Play With Your Poodle 1997. Both are good, and Blue House is a stand-out in a busy catalog. Sing It! 1998, with Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson, is simply one of the best records ever made. By anybody. It sounds like hyperbole to me too, but you need to hear it. Ball rises to the occasion, singing with two of the greatest vocalists of their generation. Song selection, production, and steaming heaps of talent make for a great record.

After Sing It!, Ball moved to Alligator Records for the rest of her career. Her first two for Alligator, Presumed Innocent 2001and Too Many Rivers 2003, are both killer. The recording quality (and cover photography) of both of them seems superior to most of her other work, and the music is deserving of the effort to present it so well. You can't go wrong with either one.

Three live records followed from 2004-2007, and they are good. She's wonderful live. From 2008 through 2018, she made four remarkably similar records. She wrote great songs, sang them beautifully, had excellent support, good recordings, and the whole package. Peace, Love and BBQ 2008, Roadside Attractions 2011,  The Tattooed Lady & The Alligator Man 2014, and her last, Shine Bright 2018 are hard to criticize. Professional musicians with a fun, serious, bluesy, swinging handle on this marvelous woman and her killer songs.

The highlights of her magnificent career would include Dreams Come True, Sing It!, Presumed Innocent and Too Many Rivers. Honestly, Shine Bright is right there, too. And there is time well spent with the entire catalog. A body of work that is both exceptional and vastly under appreciated. She has received many professional awards and accolades and in 2026 was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Marcia Ball was diagnosed with ALS in 2025 and has retired. Send some positive energy into the world on Marcia Ball's behalf. And get some positive energy of your own with any of her fabulous records.