WENDY AND DB BACK HOME

GRAMMY nominated in 2023 for their Chicago homestyle tribute to the blues, Into the Little Blue House, the multicultural, Chicago-based duo Wendy and DB revisits the blues genre with a deep dive into traditional acoustic styles on their newly released sixth family album, Back Home. The children's music album which captures the essence of traditional blues styles in a way to entice the ears of young listeners is available at major online music outlets and streaming platforms as well as at wendyanddb.com.

To ensure authenticity, the duo traveled to the original home of the blues, Memphis, Tennessee, to collaborate with Blues Music Award-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Doug MacLeod, traditional Delta blues vocalist Libby Rae Watson, and multiple GRAMMY nominee Shardé Thomas and her Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, which is devoted to preserving the vanishing Mississippi Hill Country fife and drum blues tradition and presenting it in combination with other blues, jazz, hip hop, and R&B stylings. Shardé Thomas ​​is the ​granddaughter of Otha Turner, one of the best-known exponents of the African American fife and drum tradition.

In Austin, Texas, Wendy and DB recorded with three-time GRAMMY nominee Ruthie Foster, whose work travels through a variety of genres: Texas blues, gospel, folk, soul, and jazz. When Wendy and DB returned to Chicago, many blues musicians from Into The Little Blue House contributed their talents to Back Home, including harmonica wizard Billy Branch, GRAMMY-winning drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, and iconic guitarist Mike Wheeler.

Noteworthy tracks include “Back Home,” on which Ruthie Foster sings out the verses in her pure, honest voice, helping create a musical landscape that’s sure to make listeners think, “If this is what ‘home’ sounds like, I want to go there!” “Be You/Walk To Your Own Beat” highlights the African rhythms and and sounds of fife and drum of the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, with Wendy Morgan’s heartfelt vocals encouraging kids to celebrate the uniquely beautiful people they are. The exhilarating “Moving Mountains” and wistful “Reflection” are replete with stunning blues harp work from Billy Branch, while Memphis legend Doug MacLeod takes center stage on “Come To Your Senses” and “Move Them Bones.” 

“Watching the River Flow” and “Hum Away” are graced by gorgeous down-home vocals from Mississippi’s Libby Rae Watson. Darryl “DB” Boggs brings loads of personality to “Hemingway,” with his friendly, joyful style really lighting up this number about Wendy’s “Wonderdog.” Throughout Back Home, Wendy and DB celebrate traditional blues music through a rich variety of originally crafted songs for young souls and longtime blues enthusiasts alike.

In addition to being GRAMMY nominated, Wendy and DB are winners of the Parents’ Choice Gold, NAPPA, and Creative Child Awards. Previous albums include Into the Little Blue House (2022 release; 2023 GRAMMY nomination), Hey Big World (2020; NAPPA Award, Mom’s Choice Award, Creative Child Album of the Year), HomeEarth (2017; NAPPA Award), It’s A Doo Da Day (2015; Parents’ Choice Gold Award, NAPPA Award), and Pockets Seasons Rhymes & Reasons (2013). 

CHICAGO BLUES DUET RELEASING NEW KINDIE ROCK ALBUM

Equipped with two guitars, a ukulele, and their voices, the multicultural, award-winning, Chicago-based children’s music duo, Wendy and DB, are committed to introducing the Blues to children. They blend traditional Blues tones with catchy lyrics that focus on inclusion, diversity, love, kindness, and family values. Their kindie rock style introduces children to Blues music infused with entertaining and educational themes. Wendy and DB's fifth album, INTO THE LITTLE BLUE HOUSE, is coming out soon with a release date of September 23, 2022.

INTO THE LITTLE BLUE HOUSE provides listeners with a Chicago blues band experience.  The album's similarly named opening track, “Little Blue House,” is full of Blues vibes with lyrics which extol sharing and mutual respect for all. This number is grounded by Wendy and DB’s heartfelt vocals and embellished by remarkable bursts of blues harp joy and an improvisation of sustained intensity from Billy Branch, heir apparent to the Chicago blues harmonica throne. “Going to the City” rolls out with a gorgeous, hard-driving backbeat from the drum set of the one and only Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith. Wendy and DB are thoroughly in charge of the energy, with their powerful voices accompanied by “shout chorus” interjections from a group of children. The theme is one of wide-eyed amazement as travelers are embraced by the excitement of urban bustle, enhanced by guitar and piano solos of effortless, fluid virtuosity by Mike Wheeler and Johnny Iguana.

Another highlight of the album is “Women of the Blues,” which opens with guest powerhouse singer Ivy Fords’s gospel style recitative calling for names of women who have given voice to the feminine expression of the blues. “Women of the Blues” is an up-tempo, eight-to-the-bar, hard-driving number, with Ivy joined by Wendy Morgan and the big bold sound of Anne Harris’s violin, to render tribute to female blues legends, from the great Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith to the indefatigable singer/guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharp, Memphis Minnie, Koko Taylor, and more.

INTO THE LITTLE BLUE HOUSE will be available at Amazon, iTunes, and CDBaby. 10% of proceeds from album sales will go to The Pinetop Perkins Foundation. For more information about the album or band go to wendyanddb.com