Barbara Lynn

Barbara Lynn (born Barbara Lynn Ozen) is an R&B singer, songwriter, and electric guitarist who performs in the Southern soul tradition. Born in Beaumont, Texas, in 1942, her very first recording, “You’ll Lose A Good Thing,” became a hit in 1962 and it remains notable for its languid, bluesy sound. She is one of the few female left-handed electric guitarists and her smooth guitar licks — and distinctive contralto voice—give her a place in the pantheon of soul music.

At first Lynn played piano, but she switched to guitar due to her admiration for both Guitar Slim and Elvis Presley. She formed a band in high school – Bobbie Lynn and Her Idols – and went on to win a few local talent shows. The band worked the club and juke-joint circuit around Beaumont where Lynn was discovered by swamp pop singer Joe Barry (I’m A Fool to Care), who introduced the teenager to Huey Meaux, a.k.a. “The Crazy Cajun.” Meaux ran the Sugar Hill recording studio and owned a few record labels in New Orleans.

This fortuitous meeting brought Lynn to the Crescent City to lay down her first studio recording. She was under considerable pressure because her parents gave her permission to travel to New Orleans with the understanding that if the recording venture wasn’t successful, she would give up performing and go to college. Lynn was determined and arrived at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M studio with a several ideas for songs. The session proceeded with Lynn on guitar, Mac Rebennack (later Dr. John) on organ and Joe Barry & the Vikings to round out the band. The session resulted in twelve songs, ten composed by Lynn.

From that session, “You’ll Lose A Good Thing” rocketed to #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and #8 on Billboard’s pop chart. To support the single, Lynn immediately went out on tour with such artists as Sam Cooke, Al Green, Carla Thomas, Ike and Tina Turner, Jackie Wilson, and Stevie Wonder. She was a sought-after performer as a singer and electric guitarist, a rare combination for a woman in the early 1960s. She appeared twice on American Bandstand and in several shows at the Apollo Theater.

Lynn was one of the first female instrumentalists to hit the Top Ten. Her stature in the music world was heightened because she wrote her own material and played lead guitar. Soon, her songs were being covered by Otis Redding (You Left the Water Running), the Rolling Stones (Oh, Baby [We’ve Got a Good Thing Goin’]) and Aretha Franklin (You’ll Lose a Good Thing). In time, she became known as the “Empress of Gulf Coast Soul.”

Lynn continued to record and tour until she got married in 1970 at age 28, moved to Los Angeles, and had three children. She loved family life, and coupled with disputes over material and promotion with the Atlantic label, she retired from the music business for nearly twenty years. Lynn maintained her musical chops by making occasional appearances at local clubs and recording a few singles on small labels. “The singing never left me,” Lynn said. “That’s all I ever wanted to be. I just love to entertain. I don’t care if it’s for an audience of one.”

After her husband’s death, she returned to Beaumont and was lured out of retirement to tour Japan in 1984, where she recorded a live album, You Don’t Have to Go. Lynn’s musical fire was reignited: she agreed to a few more tours to Europe along with selected dates in the United States. She recorded a new studio album in 1994 entitled So Good and then several more for different labels. Lynn’s album Hot Night Together, released in 2000, featured her son Bachelor rapping on two cuts.

Barbara Lynn was honored with a Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Her work has influenced a number of contemporary artists including Anita Baker and electronica musician Moby, who sampled “I’m A Good Woman” on his album, 18 (2002).. She performed in New Orleans in 2008 at the Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Ponderosa Stomp.

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Karen Celestan was the senior program manager for the Music Rising at Tulane initiative (2012-2014). She is the co-author of three books “Unfinished Blues: Memories of a New Orleans Music Man” with Harold Battiste, Jr.; “Freedom’s Dance: Social, Aid and Pleasure Clubs in New Orleans” with Eric Waters; and “So. So Pretty: Mardi Gras Indian Queens in New Orleans” with Cherice Harrison-Nelson.