Sylvia Embry

Biography

Sylvia Lee Burton, known as Queen Sylvia Embry, was born on June 14, 1941, in Wabbaseka, Arkansas, near Pine Bluff. As a child, she played piano and sang in church, influenced by gospel music under her grandmother's guidance, though she secretly loved rock and roll artists like Chuck Berry and Lloyd Price. In her teens, she joined the Southern Echoes gospel group. At 19, she moved to Memphis to pursue singing but faced setbacks, marrying and starting a family. After her first marriage ended, she relocated to Chicago in the early 1960s, where she met and married blues guitarist Johnny Embry.

Inspired by Z.Z. Hill's 1971 hit 'Don't Make Me Pay For His Mistakes,' Sylvia learned bass guitar from her husband, overcoming skepticism and sexist remarks in the male-dominated blues scene. She played in Johnny's band, then joined Lefty Dizz's Shock Treatment at Chicago clubs like Checkerboard Lounge and Kingston Mines, eventually fronting bands with her rich, gospel-soaked voice. Her recording debut came at age 39 on Alligator Records' Living Chicago Blues Vol. 6 (1980), followed by the Razor Records album Troubles with Johnny, her solo LP Midnight Baby (1983), and European tours with Jimmy 'Fast Fingers' Dawkins in 1982-1983.

Despite acclaim on the Chicago club circuit and festivals like Willie Dixon's Mississippi Blues Festival, Sylvia's career was cut short by health issues. She continued touring into the late 1980s, including with the Mississippi All-Stars in 1986, but passed away from cancer on February 28, 1992, in Chicago at age 50, leaving a legacy as one of Chicago's pioneering female blues bassists and vocalists.

Fun Facts

• Inspired to play bass after hearing the bass line on Z.Z. Hill’s 1971 hit 'Don’t Make Me Pay For His Mistakes,' she proved her husband wrong by mastering the instrument quickly despite his doubts.
• Faced sexist remarks from male bass players who told her to 'stay home and make babies,' yet persevered to become one of Chicago’s few professional female blues bassists.
• Impressed blues legend Willie Dixon so much with her bass skills that he personally sent her to Europe for American Blues Festival tours.
• Her first marriage and singing career in Memphis didn't pan out, leading her to Chicago where she reinvented herself in blues after age 20.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Johnny Embry - Husband and blues guitarist who taught her bass guitar (Played in his band The Blues Kings; album Troubles (1980)) [Early 1960s-1980s]
• Willie Dixon - Blues legend who was impressed by her bass playing and sent her on European tours (American Blues Festival tours) [1980s]

Key Collaborators

• Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins - Blues guitarist; toured Europe together and recorded (Midnight Baby album (1983); European tours (1982-1983)) [1982-1983]
• Lefty Dizz - Band leader of Shock Treatment; regular gigs at Chicago clubs (Shock Treatment band performances at Checkerboard Lounge and Kingston Mines) [Late 1970s-early 1980s]
• Johnny Embry - Husband, bandmate, and co-performer (Troubles album (1980); The Blues Kings band) [1960s-1980s]
• Sam Myers - Shared stages at festivals and tours (Willie Dixon’s Mississippi Blues Festival; Mississippi All-Stars world tour) [1980s]

External Links

• Spotify