Lady Carolyn: Boston Rock and Roll Legend, Over 40 Years on scene

Judy Dessanti's look at the Ladies of Boston Rock and Roll - Barb Kitson, Pamela Ruby Russell, Carolyn Sharp-Heggarty, Wunderkind, November Group, Lizzie Borden and the Axes, Annie Rock and Roll, back in the 1970s the punk scene was dominated by males but the regional rock women's movement was there and was vibrant. Interesting that Lizzie Borden and Lady Carolyn have continued to appear on stage over a forty-year or more period of time.

Chanteuse:

1. a female singer of popular songs, especially in a nightclub.

Wikipedia defines Diva: A diva (/ˈdiːvə/; Italian: [ˈdiːva]) is a celebrated female singer; a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and by extension in theatre, cinema and popular musician

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In the 1980s at the Paradise Theater Lady Carolyn opened for Peter Noone's groundbreaking new wave band, The Tremblers. Years later Peter and Carolyn reunited for a photo op at the Cary Theater ...oh, excuse me, Cary Hallin Lexington, Mass. See photo above.

Having moved to Vegas years ago where Joe Black from Ball and Chain has arrived recently, it's been quite awhile since I've gotten to a rock and roll gig in New England. What I do recall is a show up in Lawrence or Lowell where Love and Flame performed with Richard Nolan and Third Rail. Replacing Liz Ireland in the band (Auguste Phenomenon was the original name from old Paradise photos) was the terrific B.J. Plattner on keyboard and vocals. It was a very cool club on the Merrimac river and both bands were excellent. Two of the guys from the band The Bags before there even was a Bags were on guitar and bass, Yippa who would later join Drezniak was on drums, and Love and Flame put out a powerful set with two women holding their own with the hard-driving male musicians. It's a foggy memory, can't remember the club name, can't remember if it was Lowell or Lawrence, just remember that back in the day you could go bar hopping and be entertained by people passionate about their art.

I'm told that Carolyn was in a band Black Sheep of the Family before she and her boyfriend at the time, keyboard player Lord Manuel, teamed up with what would become Love and Flame, and it was their pioneering efforts along with Mickey Metts, Karen DeBiasse of Girl On Top, Didi Stewart and Girls Night Out, New York's Stacie Rose and Mary Gatchell that opened the door to the current women on the scene like Boston's Samantha Allen, Haley Katrin and Amanda Picciche of In Ivy, Lauren Bateman, Emmy Cerra and so many more - women with an intuitive sense of the stage, holding a tune, and making people smile.

Varulven Records paired Lady Carolyn performing "Of Yesterday" with Maureen Tucker of the Velvet Underground's very first solo release "I'm Sticking With You." The Lou Reed tune featuring Jonathan Richman in a duet with Tucker, and Willie Loco Alexander also singing and performing, was such a dynamic moment the Fleetwood Mac-ish "b" side may have been overlooked, yet Lady Carolyn's years in the business and her appearance on a record with a key member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Velvet Underground puts her in a class by herself.

At the C Note Lounge on September 1, 2018, 7:00 pm or so Carolyn will be singing "Summertime," the classic from Porgy and Bess covered by Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin and so many others

Moe Tucker's "I'm Sticking With You" has over 115,000 views on YouTube, yet Lady Carolyn's "Of Yesterday" isn't found on the web! Varulven Records - get a clue - post that classic soon!

RAT BEACH PARTY
At the C-Note, 159 Nantasket Ave., Hull, from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, and again on Sept. 7. Lady Carolyn Sharp-Heggarty plays on Sept. 1 at about 7:15 p.m. $5 to $10 (or more!) requested donation with proceeds benefiting special needs music students in the Hull High School Music Department. 781-925-4300

Photos above: Carolyn with Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, Lady Carolyn/Moe Tucker 45 - cover art by Billie Montgomery-Perry, 45 RPM image, and Love and Flame T Shirt