Since belatedly discovering Here Is Barbara Lynn, the sole Atlantic album by the titular Texas soul singer, half-a-dozen years ago, I've often wondered why she never became a major star (Light in the Attic Records is reissuing that album next month). She was not only a remarkable vocalist with a plush, throaty, and powerful instrument, but one hell of a songwriter and a terrific guitarist (the latter two skills were generally suppressed in female artists during the early 60s, when she first emerged).…
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