Christine Ohlman “ The Beehive Queen”

By the time she traveled from Boston to New York on an overnight train to make her first record at the age of 16, writing the “B” side on the way to the studio (that “B” side. “I Don’t Know Why,” was reissued in 2012 in the UK as a part of a Mainstream Records compilation All Kinds Of Highs on the Ace label), she was already a veteran of the local coffeehouse circuit around New Haven, Connecticut. “Bob Shad, the owner of Mainstream, flew down from New York City to hear the band; he signed us the same day,” she says. “Shad was a true legend. He’d made field recordings of Ray Charles in Florida when he was still calling himself Ray Charles Robinson. What a kick. We were in the studio practically before we knew what hit us recording a version of Al Kooper’s ‘Wake Me, Shake Me.’ The next thing we knew, we were on the charts and I was in heaven!”

Christine was a founding member of The Scratch Band, legendary throughout the Northeast for their incendiary and eclectic live shows, and her stark, piano-accompanied version of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You” from their first LP was a turntable hit in the U.K. A portion of The Scratch Band reunited in the studios of NBC’s Saturday Night Live with Christine joining guitarist/vocalist/musical director G.E. Smith and bassist Paul Ossola, both former Scratch Band members, in the SNL band. Ohlman has now been the featured vocalist with the SNL Band for 28 years, appearing on both the 25th and 40th Anniversary SNL telecasts; in addition, SNL40’s post-show concert also featured her star turn onstage with Jimmy Fallon (pulled onstage by Fallon at the Plaza Hotel, Ohlman was treated to Elvis Costello and the B-52s joining her as back-up vocalists). At one show, the 11-member SNL Band, featuring in its repertoire a heavy dose of Christine’s favorite music—southern soul—took the stage (joined by Ry Cooder, Steve Cropper and Maceo Parker) as the house band for The Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards, a performance that was, in Ohlman’s words, “just about the biggest flat-out thrill of my life. We were doing ‘Tell Mama’ and I looked around to catch Steve Cropper’s eye only to spot Clarence Carter, who wrote the song, standing in the wings waiting to come on. I thought—well, it just doesn’t get much better than this” (although she admits that the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction in Cleveland, where she was part of the house band, The Central Park Summerstage Tribute To Janis Joplin, where she fronted both Big Brother & The Holding Company and the Kozmic Blues Band, and the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Tribute Concert, where she sang with George Harrison, among others, edge out everything for sheer historical vibe). Ohlman has most recently been heard in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” (in a guest-vocal turn on the Rolling Stones’ classic cut “Out of Time”). In 2017, she was inducted into the National Blues Hall of Fame of American Heritage International. Ohlman topped the Alternate Root.com’s 2013 Readers’ Poll as top Americana vocalist, joining other winners Paul Thorn, The Mavericks and Rodney Crowell. While touring and recording with Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez are the main focus, she has numerous all-star concert appearances to her credit, including numerous guest vocal shots on the HBO series “Vinyl” that feature a duet with Elvis Costello; the 2016-2018 AMA Conferences in Nashville; The PBS series “Music City Roots” with Bonnie Bramlett, Sarah Potenza and the McCrary Sisters; the 2016 New Orleans Jazz Festival’s Tribute To David Bowie; aforementioned 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction; “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon”; the Carnegie Hall Tribute to the Rolling Stones (where she appeared with Ian Hunter); the series of Little Kids Rock NYC tributes, on stage with Bruce Springsteen, Brian Wilson, Steve Miller, Tom Morello, Keb Mo, Bonnie Raitt, and Elvis Costello; the Lincoln Center “American Songbook” Series (with Sting and Lou Reed); the 2013 Obama Inaugural Gala; “Celebrate Brooklyn’s” Tribute to Bill Withers (with Nona Hendryx and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James); and sit-ins with Ronnie Spector, Mac Rebennack (two evenings of solo duets that she calls “some of the highlights of my life”), Muscle Shoals icons Donnie Fritts and John Paul White of the Civil Wars at NYC’s Public Theatre, soul queen Candi Staton, and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

Ohlman’s yearly contributions to the WC Handy Festival in Muscle Shoals, Alabama include historic events like from her sold-out 2013 Handy Fest Tribute To Jerry Wexler, to 2016’s sold-out collaboration with iconic guitarist Travis Wammack and 2019’s planned Shoals Theatre songwriters circle with Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham and Donnie Fritts at which she’ll duet with all

three (in 2015 Ohlman was the fest’s Grand Marshall, riding in Sam Phillips’ famed baby-blue Cadillac convertible). Muscle Shoals has truly become a second musical home; she plays in The Decoys with legendary bassist David Hood and, as she says, “the cream of the Shoals cats.” She is also deeply embedded in the New Orleans scene, with six sold-out editions of “Down On The Bayou” during successive years of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, all to benefit the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, of which she is a national spokesperson. Ohlman of course continues to perform with the SNL Band, appearing on the aforementioned 40th Anniversary broadcast and with Al Green on the show’s 25th Anniversary Special as well as in hilarious commercial parodies like “Carter n’ Sons Barbeque.” She is a sought-after studio guest vocalist, appearing on 2013’s “Andrew Loog Oldham & Friends Sing The Rolling Stones Songbook Vol. 2,” a historic release (chosen by Little Stephen’s Underground Garage as “2013’a Coolest Record Of The Year”) by the legendary Rolling Stones producer (a close friend and himself a 2014 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame); Ian Hunter’s “When I’m President” and “Shrunken Heads”; Big Al Anderson’s “Pawn Shop Guitars”; and three CDs by esteemed Irish punk group Black 47. “Labor of Love: The Music Of Nick Lowe” features her vocal collaboration with Marshall Crenshaw on Lowe’s “Cruel To Be Kind.” And her commitment to the blues runs deep, as her scorching duets with the late Eddie Kirkland on his CD’s “Where You Get Your Sugar” and “Lonely Street”; her guest-shots with Charlie Musselwhite on his Grammy-nominated “One Night In America”; and her appearance on “The Songs Of Willie Dixon” (with Sonny Landreth & Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown) and Grammy nominee “A Tribute To Howlin’ Wolf” (with Taj Mahal & Lucinda Williams) give statement. In 2011 she contributed vocals to Mac Rebennack’s BP oil spill saga, “All Washed Up.”

Dedication to preserving the soul in rock n’ roll has been the hallmark of Christine’s work from the days of The Scratch Band through a stint with Christine Ohlman and The Soul Rockers to her present band Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez’ (Cliff Goodwin-guitars, Michael Colbath-bass, Larry Donahuedrums; original guitarist Eric Fletcher passed away in May, 2006). Her earliest idols were Etta James, Ray Charles, and Jackie Wilson. “My mom taught me to love those artists,” says Christine. “When she was growing up she used to frequent Cafe Society in New York City to hear Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Lena Horne. I just naturally picked up on blues and jazz through her. Then of course there was Elvis, and Jerry Lee, and the artists on Stax and Atlantic. At some point I also began to listen heavily to Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James. So my songwriting reflects influences old and new. I always tend to lean toward wild guitar bands— you know, the ‘crazies’.” (Ohlman continues this fascination with musical tradition via her work as a music writer and musicologist. She was an original editor of the All-Music Guide, edited Andrew Loog Oldham’s autobiography “2Stoned”, and is a cover-story-writing contributor to Elmore Magazine). Ohlman travels the world with The Sessions Panel, an all-star music industry presentation whose mission is to “enrich, educate and empower”; in 2019 they appeared at the Royal Academy in Ghent and in Nottingham, UK. She is a board member of the Institute for the Musical Arts founded by iconic guitarist June Millington of the group Fanny, and a yearly contributor to IMA’s Rock and Roll Camp for Girls.

Re-Hive, and 2010’s The Deep End, her first CD of new material in five years. Co-produced by Andy York (John Mellencamp), it features duets with Ian Hunter, Dion DiMucci, and Marshall Crenshaw and guest shots by Levon Helm, Big Al Anderson, G.E. Smith, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, and others. The Deep End was honored on four national 2010 Top Ten lists. In July, 2011, Ohlman & Rebel Montez released their first concert DVD, Live Hive. She is currently at work on “The Grown-Up Thing” projected for 2019 release.

No stranger to tragedy, Ohlman suffered, in addition to the loss of longtime musical collaborator Fletcher, the death in 2005 of her mate and producer of more than 25 years, Doc Cavalier. Re-Hive is dedicated to his memory (as The Deep End is to Fletcher’s). Following Cavalier’s passing, she produced a now legendary memorial concert that featured 26 acts and nearly 100 musicians pivotal to the professional life she shared with him. “This is a time of reordering in my life,” she said recently. “There are no words to describe the empty spaces left by these losses. I feel I honor the memory of Doc and Eric by creating, by writing, and by performing. It hasn’t been easy by any means. But friends and fellow musicians have been extraordinary in their generosity and support. Michael Colbath, Larry Donahue, Cliff Goodwin and I look forward to the next record and to future collaborations.” Ohlman says, “The songs on The Deep End deal, in some ways, with the subject of loss, but much more importantly with the ways that love intersects with life to bring a kind of joy into one’s heart that is sometimes bittersweet.”

With her trademark mile-high platinum beehive hairdo and enviable collection of sequins and rhinestones, Ohlman looks like a lady to be reckoned with, and when she opens her mouth to sing, the truth comes out. But underneath it all lurks a no-frills approach to music. In her own words—”I give it to an audience straight, which is the way I like it myself. Yes, I like to shout, and I like to croon, and I love to wail. I just need to get in the groove and rock---not think too much about it– tear it up or soothe it over. I’ve loved rock n’ roll since I was a little girl, and I’ll love it forever. It’s my greatest kick and my greatest privilege to be able to get up on a stage and rip it apart. That’s rock n’ roll to me. I’m here to set your soul on fire.”