Black Music/Pride Month Spotlight: Brittany Howard

Musician Brittany Howard taps into her musical talent to heal herself and others. Howard was the youngest of two daughters born to a Black American father and white mother in Athens, AL. She found her musical abilities after being taught poetry and the piano by her older sister Jaime. Unfortunately, the Howard family suffered a series of tragedies — losing Jaime to cancer, Howard developing the same cancer, the junkyard they called home catching fire, and her parents splitting up. Howard took up guitar at age 13 before meeting future Alabama Shakes band member Zac Cockrell. Her love for music extended to 1970s rock, pop, R&B, and rock ‘n roll.

After graduating high school, Howard worked as a postal worker for several years. She held this position until Alabama Shakes started picking up steam. Years of playing cover paid off as the band scored a deal with ATO Records. The band released their debut album, Boys and Girls. The album brought them immediate success and multiple award nominations. Their №1 sophomore album, Sound & Color, followed their successful debut by scoring more acclaim and nominations.

While in the Alabama Shakes, the musician founded two side projects — Thunderbitch and The Bermuda Triangle. Each project released some music before citing to perform. After Sound & Color arrived in 2015, the Shakes decided to go on a hiatus in 2018. Howard took the opportunity to forge her solo music career. Her debut solo release, Jaime, built on her group’s past success with unanimous acclaim and multiple nominations. After a five-year hiatus, the Grammy winner returned with her follow-up album What Now to critical acclaim.

Howard was named one of the greatest guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone.

Brittany Howard used her honesty and musicianship to craft previews in her diary. She gave space for the Black singer-songwriter in rock music for future musicians to follow. So, I say, “Ms. Howard, we thank you for making music a connected experience again.”

I remember I stopped dancing and it’s all just computing in my brain. I’m like, Oh my God, this is what I want to do! From the very next day, that’s all I thought about, and for the following rest of my life, that’s all I’ve thought about.

Brittany Howard

Originally published at http://adreonpatterson.net on June 20, 2024.