She was born in Beaumont, Texas, and attended Hebert Excessive Faculty.She performed piano as a toddler, however switched to guitar, which she performs left-handed. Impressed by blues artists Guitar Slim and Jimmy Reed, and pop acts Elvis Presley and Brenda Lee, and profitable a number of native expertise reveals, she created an all-female band, Bobbie Lynn and Her Idols.
She started performing in native golf equipment in Texas. Singer Joe Barry noticed her and launched Lynn to producer Huey P. Meaux, who ran SugarHill Recording Studios and several other file labels in New Orleans. Her first single, “You’ll Lose A Good Factor”, co-written by her and Meaux, was recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M studio with session musicians together with Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) Launched by Jamie Information, it was a no 1 US Billboard R&B chart hit and Prime 10 Billboard Scorching 100 hit in 1962. The music was later recorded by Aretha Franklin and have become a nation hit file for Freddy Fender. Reggae artist Mikey Dread additionally based mostly the melody of his 1989 single “Select Me” on this music.Lynn additionally launched an album, additionally titled You’ll Lose A Good Factor, which featured ten of her compositions.
Unusually for the time, Lynn was a feminine African American singer who each wrote most of her personal songs and performed a lead instrument. Quickly Lynn was touring with such soul musicians as Gladys Knight, Stevie Surprise, Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, James Brown, Al Inexperienced, Carla Thomas, Marvin Gaye, Ike and Tina Turner, the Temptations, and B.B. King. She appeared on the Apollo Theater, twice on American Bandstand. In 1965, she had her music, “Oh Child (We’ve Bought A Good Factor Goin’)” (1964) coated by the Rolling Stones on their album The Rolling Stones Now! in America and Out Of Our Headswithin the UK. She continued to file for the Jamie label till 1966 and had a number of extra minor hits.
In 1966 she signed to Meaux’s Tribe label, and recorded “You Left the Water Operating,” which was coated by Otis Redding amongst others. She signed for Atlantic the next 12 months, and recorded one other album, Right here Is Barbara Lynn, in 1968. She married for the primary time, at age 28, in 1970 and had three youngsters. This, along with dissatisfaction with poor promotion by the file firm, contributed to her choice to largely retire from the music enterprise for a lot of the Seventies and Eighties. Nevertheless, whereas residing in Los Angeles, she often appeared at native golf equipment, and launched a number of singles on Jetstream and different small labels.
In 1984 she toured Japan, and recorded a stay album, You Don’t Should Go, which was launched later within the US. She resumed her recording profession after her husband’s loss of life, and returned to Beaumont, Texas, the place her mom lived. She additionally undertook additional worldwide excursions, to Europe and elsewhere. In 1994, she recorded her first studio album for over twenty years, So Good, and launched a number of extra albums for numerous labels in later years.
She continues to reside in Beaumont, and was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Basis in 1999. In 2002, digital musician Moby sampled Lynn’s “I’m A Good Girl” on his album 18.
She seems within the 2015 documentary movie I Am the Blues
