Lynn, Barbara (1942–)
Lynn, Barbara (1942–)
American R&B singer, songwriter and guitarist. Born Barbara Lynn Ozen, Jan 16, 1942, in Beaumont, Texas; children: 3, including Bachelor Wise (musician).
Left-handed guitar player, dubbed "Empress of Gulf Coast Soul," began playing piano at young age; took up guitar as teenager and formed all-female band, Bobbie Lynn and the Idols; met producer Huey P. Meaux, who subsequently produced all of her records; moved to Louisiana with Meaux and scored 1st big hit with New Orleans-style standard "You'll Lose a Good Thing" (1962), based on her poem; had continued success with "You're Gonna Need Me" (1963) and "It's Better to Have It" (1965); signed with Meaux's Tribe label (1966), releasing album The Barbara Lynn Story (1967); switched to Atlantic Records and had better success with "This Is the Thanks I Get" (1968) and "Until Then I'll Suffer" (1971); wrote "Oh! Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')", which was later covered by Rolling Stones; toured with B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, among others; retired from music business (mid-1960s); released albums Good Thing, Good Thing (1989), So Good (1994), Until Then I'll Suffer (1996) and Hot Night Tonight (2000), featuring Ivan Neville, Bernard Fowler, Daryl Jones and son, Bachelor Wise.