Photo by Michael Taylor
Judy Sings The Blues’ latest album was inspired by childhood trauma and earned the band a spot on the first-round Grammy ballot.
For 10 years, singer-songwriter Judy Mangini has been singing the blues, soulful insights into the human condition.
These days, her personal tempo is upbeat. Come Over Here, her latest CD, was on the first-round ballot for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. While she didn’t take home the gramophone, “I was so honored to be in the running with the likes of Ben Harper and Edgar Winter,” the artist says.
Mangini, 62, of Lewes, received her first vocal training in the chorus at Shue Middle School in Newark. She began writing music at 12. She married at 19, had a baby at 20, and put music aside until she was 52 and started her band, Judy Sings the Blues. Her first CD, Born a Sinner, came out in 2018.
The newest album was inspired by childhood trauma: Mangini was molested by a friend of the family when she was 10 years old. “It’s about pedophilia, but it doesn’t come right out and say it,” she says.
Her grandchildren—Avery Lanzi, Gianna Melvin and Norah Melvin—created the art and title for the CD cover, which depicts a girl with a teddy bear being lured by a man in the park with a “lost dog” sign.
The album charted on the Roots Music Report for 14 weeks. Her album, Come Over Here, is available online and through Pandora, giving her worldwide exposure. But because she performs regionally rather than nationally, Mangini faced an uphill battle getting through the first round and onto the final Grammy ballot.
To learn more about Judy Sings the Blues, hear the latest album or learn where to catch a performance, find them online.
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