Blues singer Sandra Wright dies at 61

When Sandra Wright moved to Vermont in 1992, bandmate Dave Nerbak said she was something special.

Wright, who headlined countless shows, benefit concerts and music festivals in Vermont in the last two decades, died Monday at the age of 61.

|”Everyone’s pretty shaken up,” said Linda Bassick, a friend.

Born in Memphis, Tenn., Wright described growing up around gospel music in a 2003 interview with British music magazine In the Basement.

Her aunts and cousins sang, and one cousin achieved fame as blues singer Memphis Slim.

Wright sang in a gospel choir and studied opera in college.

Nerbak said she toured with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown before forming the Sandra Wright Band, which toured up and down the East Coast before settling in Ludlow in 1992.

A 25-year veteran of the Burlington music scene, Nerbak said he started working with Wright about nine years ago.

Working with Wright, Nerbak said he learned to play R&B with a “condensed orchestra.”

Diana Winn Levine, owner of Rebop Records, said she met Wright in 1997. People described Wright’s voice as having both great power and great range.

“I’ve heard her sing Zeppelin, sing Robert Plant,” friend Mark Andrade said. “I said, ‘That sounds like Sandra Wright,'” he said. “The guy next to me said, ‘That is Sandra Wright.’ Wright would go to open mic nights, Andrade said, and give younger singers tips.

Wright’s final show was with former members of the Unknown Blues Band as part of Burlington, Vermont’s First Night.

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