Raised in Alabama, Lena grew up singing gospel in her grandmother’s
church. She moved to Sacramento with her family in 1966. In 1976, Gene
Chambers heard Lena sing and encouraged her to sing the blues, taking
her around town and introducing her to such influences as Johnny
Heartsman, Arbess Williams, Johnny Knox and Mick Martin.
Lena performed regularly for many years with local bands before
forming her own band, “Lena Mosley and The Badd Shoes Blues Band,” When
Mike Balma decided to record a CD entitled “The Sacramento Blues,” it
featured 10 local blues bands that included Lena’s. All the groups on
the recording then toured from Sacramento to Tahoe, San Francisco,
Redding, stopping at many of the surrounding cities. The Rhythm and
Blues Magazine interviewed and featured an article on Lena’s
participation in the tour and the CD.
Lena’s performance with the Sacramento Blues Society events span many
years, performing at Christmas parties, fund raisers, jam sessions and
the Blues In The School program. Lena also brought the “Blues” to the
CSUS Student Body, and her band regularly performed at the Sacramento
Blues Festival during the many years that Phil Givant was the producer,
leading to being asked by the Jazz Jubilee to perform on subsequent
occasions.
In 2006, Lena joined “The Sacramento Blues Revue,” an eight person
band, as the only female vocalist. Recently the group received a SAMMIE
(Sacramento Area Music Award) for the “Best Blues Band,” recognizing
the band as a prominent local act.
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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