Photograph by Emerald Dove
Diane Durrett might be called a modern-day Renaissance woman. In addition to songwriting, producing music, and performing regularly, she also organizes the annual Women in Blues event, composes and edits film soundtracks, has authored a book, and serves as president of the Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy, best known for the Grammy awards. In this role, she handles the nomination process, champions music creator rights, and oversees the Music Cares initiative, which provides support to music creators who are struggling with health and other challenges. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she is one of the most influential figures in the Atlanta music scene.
Durrett’s success in the music business didn’t follow a straight trajectory, but rather has been a series of creative responses to professional setbacks and personal challenges, all buoyed by a strong sense of purpose and a deep concern for the well-being of others.
Born and raised in Marietta, Durrett found her calling as a child singing in the church choir directed by her mother. The give and take of the experience—how the audience reacted and her own response to that energy—had her hooked and set her on the path that would become her destiny. “I felt like I had this deep knowing that it was my destination to live the life of being a singer-songwriter and be able to relate to people’s stories and to tell a story in a song to where it’s inspirational for someone else,” she says.
Further influenced by the gospel, blues, and soul music she discovered as she grew up, she learned to play the guitar and piano and eventually began participating in Monday night open jams on the Atlanta blues circuit. Watching performers like Francine Reed and Sandra Hall and keeping company with other aspiring musicians helped her to hone her skills and to get herself noticed in her own right. Eventually, she opened for or shared the stage with a rollcall of talent including Koko Taylor, Tina Turner, Delbert McClinton, Derek Trucks, Gregg Allman, Chuck Leavell, the Indigo Girls, and many others.
Getting her songs recorded, however, proved difficult, so she decided to learn sound engineering out of necessity: “I figured that the only way I’m going to be able to make a recording is I’d have to do it myself. That sort of spurred me on to being an engineer and getting my own studio and just continuing to try to make the music,” Durrett says. Producing music also helped her to refine her songwriting skills from a technical point of view.
The central purpose of a song is more emotional than technical, however. Durrett describes it as the ability “to inspire and to love and to tell the story. A great song has a tickle, a tug, and a tear. They’ll either make you laugh a little, tug at your heart, or they’ll give you the opportunity to feel like you can release some sorrow but then find your joy in that sorrow.”
The creative process can similarly be a joy-in-sorrow experience. For example, Durrett was called on to sing one of her favorite songs, “Amazing Grace,” at the funeral of a good friend. However, she was so distraught that she couldn’t remember the rest of the lyrics. Instead, she sang the words “amazing grace” over and over, in different vocal registers, until the rest of the lyrics came. “So, I finish it off. I do all of the different versions, the different melody lines, and afterward we go to the gathering and my friend tells me how everybody was going on and on about how wonderful the arrangement was,” she says. She has sung it the same way ever since. An a cappella version even appears on her new album, Sweet Georgia Blues.
The death of her mother and other good friends like Yonrico Scott (the subject and drummer on Sweet Georgia Blues’s introductory song, “Child of the Blues”) provided similar inspiration. In the song “Look for Me,” Durrett explains, “I’ve had a long time to think about that experience of not only are you going to be looking for [those who passed on], but they’ll be looking for you. That’s why I want to put it out there, because I do believe that they are there. I do believe in the afterlife and that their spirits, in some way, help us find each other again.”
Not all the songs on the new album are as solemn. One of her favorites has a “feel-good vibe,” despite having been written during the Covid-19 shutdown. Being unable to perform live was hard, but it also allowed Durrett to rediscover the outdoors. A riff came to her, but she was stuck on lyrics and a title. She finally settled on “Chasing Sunsets,” a metaphor that reflected the quiet joys of appreciating the beauty of nature. Local guitarist Cody Matlock lends his prowess to this one, as well as to the catchy “Sweet Spot.”
Photograph by Emerald Dove
“Blessed Out of the Blue” is another upbeat tune that celebrates being thankful for unexpected happiness, and the title track of the album, “Sweet Georgia Blues,” also draws on themes of nature and the appreciation of small moments. This one will particularly please those who enjoyed the soul/blues sound that characterized much of her last album. It features the talents of Chad Mason on the Wurlitzer and guitarist Brooks Mason (a.k.a. “Eddie 9 Volt”), in addition to her band, Soul Suga, to help create the gospel/blues anthem feel. Tinsley Ellis guests with haunting guitar licks on “The River Sings to Me,” which draws heavily on an even earlier blues sound and brings to mind the influence of Blind Willie Johnson.
Much of blues music is characterized by the idea of surmounting difficulties through the sharing of music, and Durrett puts her own twist on this theme. The challenges she faced as a woman in music industry motivated her to organize the annual Women in Blues event, which most recently featured an impressive lineup of local artists such as the all-woman blues band, Blue Velvet, along with Sandra Hall, Rebekah ‘Rae’ Easley, Liz Melendez, Melissa Junebug, Fuji Fujimoto, Connie Dubois, and Vanessa Mirando.“I do feel like that there are still barriers for women, that we don’t have as much opportunity. And that’s one reason why I try to help my little world, to help and encourage women and to help them to create opportunities for themselves,” she says.
Her advocacy on behalf of other music creators no doubt helped her to get elected as president of the Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy. Her main goal in this role, she says, is “to continue to create community within our music community, to help there be stronger bonds, and to create a community for people who need help or to make a song that we can write together and record together. And just to build up a better situation for everybody.”
Promoting her own music and that of others has a larger purpose, she believes. “I just believe that you’ve got to put good vibes out in the in the world, no matter what you’re doing, and our world really needs it. We’ve always needed it, but especially right now,” she says.
Given the inherent message in her efforts as a whole, it’s not surprising that the accomplishments and accolades are not what it’s all about for Durrett. In fact, what it really comes down to is a belief in the power of music to create joy—even in face of life’s difficulties. This philosophy might best be summed up in the goals she has for every performance: “I feel like when we do a concert together that people go away feeling good, maybe getting some hope, and, you know, getting to dance or have a good time away for a minute. That, to me, is success,” she says.
Durrett and her band, Soul Suga (Melissa Junebug on drums, Yoel Yehuda on keyboards and Fuji Fujimoto on bass), will debut her 10th album, Sweet Georgia Blues, and play other favorites at a blues brunch at City Winery on October 26 at 12:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
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