Tracy Nelson is a blues singer who moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin , to California in the late sixties . Shortly after moving to California, Nelson heard the song “Mother Earth” by Memphis Slim . “It’s nothing I can really explain. It just grabbed me.” S he was putting together a band , and they d ecided to cover the song. The group later took Mother Earth as their name .
D iscussing what it was like for a female blues artist during the late sixties , Nelson says, “Everybody at the time was looking for another Janis Joplin or another Grace Slick, so it was very easy to get recognized and get a record contract.” She recorded five albums with Mother Earth and still tours and records as a solo artist.
Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Tracy Nelson at Bubba's Blues Corner; Helena, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
