Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Brittany Howard Remembers Her Life With Jamie

facebook.com/brittanyhowardofficial

Brittany Howard's appeal as an artist is due in large part to her outstanding vocal presence.  Along with that, everyone can see that Howard is authentic and true to herself.  For her first solo album, Howard wants to share more of her life, and that includes memorializing her late sister, Jamie.

Brittany Howard was born in Athens, Alabama in 1988.  On her new record "Jamie," Howard reflects on faith, identity and growing up with a European American mother and an African American father.  She addresses the difficulties of her childhood in the song "Goat Head."  While Jamie is not specifically mentioned in the album's songs, her older sister was there with her, teaching Brittany to play the piano and write poetry.  Jamie died of cancer in 1998.

After two acclaimed albums with her band Alabama Shakes, it was the personal nature of this music that led Howard to record "Jamie" on her own.  "The title is in memoriam, and she definitely did shape me as a human being," says Howard.  "But, the record is not about her.  It's about me.  I'm pretty candid about myself and who I am and what I believe."    

Mark Simmet is a Senior Producer and Studio One Host