On her album Feeling the Love, Songs of My Mother, Songs of My Father, Alexia Gardner delivers a masterclass on taking well-known classics and reimagining them as something new and personal. The new single ‘Miss Celie’s Blues’ is a delightful take on the 1985 song.
Alexia Gardner has shared her new song, ‘Miss Celie’s Blues,’ taken from her fifth album, Feeling the Love, Songs of My Mother, Songs of My Father, released in 2023.
A British singer with Jamaican roots, Alexia’s decades-spanning career has been incredibly varied. Her first significant break came as a teen when she was chosen to tour with the British Cabaret Circuit in England and Wales alongside her sister Paula. The duo went under ‘High Profile,’ and their mesmerizing voices won them a solid fanbase in the UK.
Alexia ventured beyond the UK as she grew older and grew her fanbase in many other places. Her singular voice saw her be selected to perform on luxury cruise liners across the Mediterranean and for prominent hotel groups in Asia. She also had the honor of singing for several Heads of State in her lifetime, including Nelson Mandela in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.
Among her traveling and performing, Alexia has recorded several albums throughout her career. In 2023, she released Feeling the Love, Songs of My Mother, Songs of My Father, her first studio album for over a decade. The album featured an array of cover selections, with jazz, soul, and gospel music being just some areas she’s focused on. ‘Miss Celie’s Blues’ is one of the clear highlights from the album.
The song itself has a vibrant history. ‘Miss Celie’s Blues’ (sometimes just called ‘Sister’) was written by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton, along with help from Lionel Richie, for Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, The Color Purple. The vocalist for the song was Táta Vega, whose depth of feeling is something many singers have subsequently tried to emulate.
‘Miss Celie’s Blues’ was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1986 – and Alice Walker herself called it a favorite – but the song has had a far-reaching legacy for other reasons. In the movie, Shug serenades Celie with this song, capturing their bond’s tender and passionate growth. ‘Miss Celie’s Blues,’ which highlights female camaraderie and kinship, was written as a love letter to Alexia`s sister.
Alexia Garnder seems to factor the song’s rich history into her interpretation. Her voice carries the same passion and fragility that Táta Vega perfected in the original version; it is resolute and firm, even as it always sounds like it might be on the verge of cracking under the weight of emotion.
