Happy Birthday to the great Ann Nesby!

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    Happy Birthday to soul and gospel songstress Ann Nesby, born July 24, 1955.

    Hers is a voice that will stop you in your tracks.  Just the sheer emotional intensity demands your attention.  It's hard not to wax lyrical or use superlatives when describing Ann Nesby's heart-filled, God-given gift.  In the oft-times 'here today, gone tomorrow' music biz, she's the real thing, the epitome of true soul-to-the-bone singing. 

    Happy Birthday to soul and gospel songstress Ann Nesby, born July 24, 1955.

    Hers is a voice that will stop you in your tracks.  Just the sheer emotional intensity demands your attention.  It's hard not to wax lyrical or use superlatives when describing Ann Nesby's heart-filled, God-given gift.  In the oft-times 'here today, gone tomorrow' music biz, she's the real thing, the epitome of true soul-to-the-bone singing. 

    Relating and contributing her gifts and talents to people the world over have been cornerstones in Ann Nesby's musical journey which began in Joliet, Illinois: "Both my parents sang: my father had his own quartet while my mother had her own gospel group.  They would rehearse with both groups at home and there was always a piano close by so music was always right there in the household. My mother - who was a big fan of Mahalia Jackson's - used to teach me about performance, vocal inflexions, and how to express what a song was about. She told me as a child that God was going to use me to bless people with my voice..."

    By the tender age of three, Ann had begun sharing her special innate vocal talent at Mount Zion Baptist Church.  Two years later, she had her first appearance before a large audience, when as the youngest president of the church Sunshine band, she traveled to Chicago to perform at a Baptist convention. A performance in Chicago on a show with The Edwin Hawkins Singers proved to be turning point and while gospel favorites like Andrae Crouch, The Reverend James Cleveland, and Shirley Caesar were constant musical influences, Ann was also exposed to R&B.  "My mother was a big Aretha Franklin fan and I would hear all of her music.  I even won a local talent contest with Aretha's 'Chain Of Fools.'"

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