A spicy southern essence of skilled jazz/blues styling. Honest & raw, you'll be left breathless by her strong, unforgettable voice.

10 MP3 Songs in this album (31:18) !
Related styles: COUNTRY: Bluegrass, COUNTRY: Country Gospel

People who are interested in Brenda Lee The Isaacs Alison Krauss should consider this download.


Details:
One of the hottest up & coming Indie vocalists in the East Tennessee area, Melissa Benjamin generates a rooted Southern essence and skilled blues/jazz vocal styling.
A well versed songstress, Melissa captivates audiences with her exceptional talent, soul, and energy.With an old-time, jazz/blues, folk, country sound -- this Southern girl does it all! She not only carries a show with her incredible vocals but with her honest and "down home" personality.

Melissa's style is heavily influenced by a wide range of artists - Etta James, Sonya Isaacs, Ella Fitzgerald, Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, and Loretta Lynn (to only name a few) which explains her versatility.

Melissa Ellis Benjamin started singing in churches at the young age of 2 and since then, throughout her entire childhood. âI'd jump at any and every opportunity to sing.â She admits shamelessly. âThanks to the good people of the Cumberland County Playhouse, as well as various others in the Cumberland County area, I was given many opportunities to hone my craft.â


In 1994, Melissa landed the role of Denise Sanders in the Cumberland County Playhouse's production of "Smoke on the Mountain". The long running musical was proven to be quite beneficial to her as it offered her experiences with touring, radio spots, and commercials to promote the hit-gospel musical. At that same time she could also be found singing on many other stages such as County Fairs, games, and political events around the East Tennessee area. Occasionally, Melissa would open for Van Hilleary on the campaign trail during his first run for Tennessee's 4th District for the US House of Representatives and singing the National Anthem for Donald Sunquist during his run for Governor.

Melissa studied voice (Jazz) extensively through college at Roane State Community College and Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN all the while continuing her show schedule/tour with âSmoke on the Mountainâ until 1998 when she finally retired the role and theater to finish school.

In 2006, she jumped back into the music scene, this time singing & playing bluegrass and from there ventured into other music arenas like jazz, blues, and Americana.

Her 2009 self titled CD is full of buzz with classics such as "In the Garden" and "Wayfaring Stranger" she shakes it up with her own renditions of "I'm Gonna Move" (made famous by The Isaacs) and award-winning song "Blue Bayou". Sure to delight is her fun and grassy, self-penned homage to her hometown, "Crossville".

With her strong, unforgettable voice and spicy stage presence, she brings an unstoppable energy to the stage and openly shares it with her audience.