JANIVA MAGNESS' The Devil Is An Angel Too Set For April 13 Release

ALLIGATOR RECORDS PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - MARCH 2, 2010
CONTACT: Marc Lipkin / Alligator Records / 773-973-7736 x235
EMAIL: publicity@allig.com
www.alligator.com

ALLIGATOR RECORDS SETS AN APRIL 13 STREET DATE FOR
JANIVA MAGNESS' THE DEVIL IS AN ANGEL TOO

Alligator Records has set an April 13 street date for The Devil Is An Angel Too, the new release from award-winning blues and R&B vocalist Janiva Magness. The CD is a hard-hitting collection of material that explores the depths of good and evil, with Magness' glorious, soul-baring vocals burning their way through twelve powerful songs. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live shows, Magness received the coveted 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year (she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being the first) and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. USA Today declared, "Magness is a blues star." In 2008, Magness performed in Iraq and Kuwait as a co-headliner of Bluzapalooza, the first-ever blues concert tour to perform for American troops in an active war zone.

Prior to her extraordinary 2008 Alligator Records debut, What Love Will Do, Magness released seven albums on various labels. The new CD, The Devil Is An Angel Too, co-produced by Magness and Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Meredith Brooks, Dan Hicks), features Magness' dynamic voice wrapping around original material written especially for her, as well as songs from Julie Miller, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Tex, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Ann Peebles and James Carr. Magness cuts to the heart of each song with fierce passion, making The Devil Is An Angel Too her most compelling release yet.

Although Magness is now a bona fide blues star, her rise to the top was far from easy. Born in Detroit, Magness was inspired by her father's blues and country record collection, and by the vibrant music of the city's classic Motown sound. By her teenage years, though, her life was in chaos. She lost both parents to suicide by the age of 16 and lived on the streets, bouncing from one foster home to another. At 17, she became a teenage mother who gave up her baby daughter for adoption. One night in Minneapolis, an underage Magness sneaked into a club to see blues great Otis Rush, and it was there that she found her calling. She began going to as many blues shows as possible, soaking up the sounds of her favorite artists, including Johnny Copeland and Albert Collins. She immersed herself in records by James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and all the other R&B greats.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and slowly began finding work there as a singer. She married musician and songwriter Jeff Turmes, with whom she recorded the album It Takes One To Know One. After three more releases, Janiva signed with Northern Blues in 2004, releasing two albums and increasing her national touring schedule. Blues Revue said, "Magness is a bold and potent artist with a powerful, soulful voice... impossible to forget."

Magness joined the Alligator family in 2008 and released her stunning label debut, What Love Will Do, to massive critical acclaim. The Chicago Sun-Times  raved, "Her songs run the gamut of emotions from sorrow to joy. A master of the lowdown blues who is equally at ease surrounded by funk or soul sounds, Magness invigorates every song with a brutal honesty." Fueled by all the positive press, National Public Radio's Weekend Edition profiled Magness, putting her in front of an audience of millions and expanding her ever-growing fan base.

In addition to her musical accomplishments, Magness is reaching out to help others. She is a National Spokesperson for Casey Family Programs (her fourth consecutive year), promoting National Foster Care Month. "Our fate doesn't have to be our destiny," she says. "I'm living proof of that. And I'm so very grateful."

Janiva Magness' deeply emotional music, sung with passion, conviction and soul, and her telepathic ability to connect with an audience, assure her place among the blues elite.  "We need real music now more than ever because it gives us strength to pull through tough times," says Magness. "We need it in a real bad way. Blues is a ray of hope. It articulates what's lacking in people's lives." With The Devil Is An Angel Too and her explosive live shows hitting cities across North America and Europe, Janiva Magness continues to spread her empowering message of hope through music.

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