Fresh off national blues honor, Magness rolls into D. M.

Fresh off national blues honor, Magness rolls into D. M.
May 14, 2009
By J. SHARPE SMITH
DesMoinesRegister.com

aniva Magness was on top of the mountain. It was the 30th annual Blues Music Awards, held in Memphis last week, and she was standing with blues royalty on the stage, somewhat in shock, as they honored her with the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award.

"I was standing next to B.B. King. He was kissing me on the cheek, while Bonnie Raitt was handing me the hardware," said Magness, who will play an early show on Wednesday at Blues on Grand. "For a blues singer it doesn't get any better than that." Magness, who also picked up her third award for Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year, is touring in support of her album, "What Love Will Do."
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It's her seventh record in a career that has spanned 30 years. The critically acclaimed recording's 13 tracks feature her belting out soul, roots and blues tunes by Little Milton, Tina Turner, Bill Withers, Al Green and Marvin Gaye. Influencing her sound are Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Memphis Minnie and Koko Taylor.

Times have not always been this good for the blues diva. Born in Detroit, Magness saw her childhood torn apart when her mother committed suicide when she was 13 and her father committed suicide when she was 16. As a result, she spent two years in foster care.

"It was a rough kick start for me. I'm sure it had everything to do with why I got so drawn to this music, this great American art form," Magness said.

Because of her tenuous beginnings, Magness became a spokesperson for foster care. Before heading to Memphis, Magness was in Washington, D.C., training volunteers to advocate for the foster care.

"I told the [volunteers] about my journey and helped them get focused for their congressional visits," she said. "As an alumni of the system, I am interested in improving living conditions for some of the most vulnerable kids in the country, kids in foster care."

Magness has not forgotten the people who played a role in helping her beat the odds and become an award-winning blues and soul singer.

"My life today is a really, really long way from where I started. It is a testament to the power of love and to the small things people can do to make a huge change in the life of a kid," she said. "Truly, there were a handful of people that really turned it around for me."

The nearly half a million children in the foster care system are never far from her heart. Magness dedicated her latest album to at-risk youth.

"[The album] is a collection of songs that is a testament to the power of love and what love can do if people are exposed to it long enough," she said. "Love is a very powerful thing. It can hold us up to the highest mountain; it can drop us down to our knees and everything in between."