All Photos: Alan Mercer
“Lynda Kay, with her towering beehive and David Lynchian theatrics is a very
compelling talent.”
-VARIETY
Song stylist Lynda Kay is known for her powerful voice, elegant vintage style, and her vast repertoire of classic songs from the early 1960s from artists such as Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey, Roy Orbison, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Judy Garland. Her most recent release 'The Allure of Lynda Kay' was recorded at Capitol Studios and she is currently writing and recording songs for two new albums: Lady in Gold and Woman in Black which will feature a never-before-released duet with the late Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead and a new collection of original Roots-Rock, Classic Pop, and Rhythm & Blues songs. Lynda Kay will guest star in the upcoming Tura! Tura Satana Documentary, and Ms. Kay has written music for films, television, and appeared in the Emmy Award-Winning series Justified and the Soundtrack on Sony Music Entertainment. Lynda Kay is also an Official Endorsee of Gretsch Guitars and Coffin Case.
AM: I must ask when and how did Lynda Kay develop into who she is today?
LK: I was born in Dallas (the influence of my big hair) and my full name is Lynda Kay Parker. Most all of the women in my family have two first names.
AM: That’s cool.
LK: I thought it was just wonderful, but my parents only called me Lynda, unless I was in trouble, and then it was Lynda Kay. They didn’t know that I really wanted to go by Lynda Kay. When my kindergarten teacher asked me what name I wanted to go by, I told her, “Lynda Kay.” Fast forward to open house when my teacher was saying 'Lynda Kay this, Lynda Kay that' and my parents were looking confused and asked her why she was calling me 'Lynda Kay.' My teacher said, “That’s what she told me she went by.” (Laughter)
AM: That’s too funny!
LK: So, I kept trying to get the name to stick and it didn’t until I started to pursue acting seriously. There was already a Lynda Parker, so, hotdog! I got to go by Lynda Kay Parker!
AM: This was while you were still living in Texas, right? What brought you to LA?
LK: Austin was the last Texas city I lived in, and acting brought me out to Los Angeles. I was cast in a couple of roles and a highlight for me was when I was in a spoof-horror movie with Bryan Cranston and John Ritter called Terror Tract. I had a very small part as a teacher who was bludgeoned to death. It was kinda depressing.
AM: That’s not a good feeling.
LK: No, it’s not. Anyway, acting brought me to LA and I thought that was what I wanted to do my whole life, but it didn’t end up that way.
AM: Why not?
LK: I loathed auditioning, It taught me that I was really more of an artist. I wanted to experience being an artist and creating more things organically as opposed to waiting for opportunities to come to me.
AM: Is this when you started singing?
LK: I was cast in a musical and discovered that people really liked my singing. I had never thought of myself as a professional singer even though I had sung in choirs my whole life and studied voice in school. I was still surprised when people liked my singing voice. My first singing gig was in the Saturday NightBlues band at The Kibitz Room.
AM: So singing evolved for you more than you dreaming of being a singing star?
LK: I love to sing and I sang from the time I was a little girl. I derive so much pleasure from singing but it wasn’t something I dreamed of having a professional career doing. All I ever really wanted to do was to have my own Carol Burnett Variety Show and be a comedic actress.
AM: I can see that in you.
LK: I LOVE high comedy. I wanted to be a Lucille Ball or a Carol Burnett. I’m a dancer so I’m very agile and can do physical comedy well. I studied it seriously, but then I realized they weren’t casting for the parts I wanted. Then I thought I could show people what I do and maybe the parts would come my way. So that’s how I got into singing. I knew people liked to hear me sing, so I booked a residency at a local club.
AM: You have so much more control over your career.
LK: Yes! I had a residency at The Atlas Club for years. I did a variety show with all these kooky characters I created. And being from Texas, I was raised on classic Country music, but I wanted my show to have a fresh twist. I discovered a whole new set of 1930’s bawdy country music I had never heard before, and they were funny!
AM: That sounds like such a great show!
LK: Then I found a bunch of raunchy Blues songs also from 30's too, so I created a show putting these songs together in one set. I still had a penchant for comedic acting though, so I started writing a bunch of ridiculous songs with my friend and drummer Nick Scarmack. The songs couldn’t have been sillier and I performed the various styles of music dressed as different characters.
AM: Do you think you would ever do this type of a show again?
LK: I don’t know. I could reinvent some aspects. Honestly, I just keep going and growing forward, but at this point I am more interested in expressing different aspects of myself and who I am as a person, organically.
AM: How long did you keep the act going?
LK: I kept it going for several years but it got to be too much, so I ended the band and started busking. Do you know what that is?
AM: No.
LK: Well, you’re going to learn something. To "busk" has it's origins in Italian and Spanish, I believe, and the act of busking is when you open your guitar case in public and just start playing for tips. I needed to learn guitar, so I figured I could learn to play guitar while I was busking and make a little money along the way. I picked up the guitar pretty quick and that’s when I started writing a lot of music. As I was busking on the Venice Boardwalk, I needed to cut through the noise, so I came up with this concept of a suitcase as a kick drum. A friend helped me fashion a foot pedal for this old suitcase I had, and, voila, I became a One-Woman Band!
AM: That takes a lot of chutzpah!
LK: I’d always had good rhythm in my feet because I was a tap dancer. Then I joined forces with another guitar player named Danny B. Harvey (from The Head Cat with Lemmy and Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats) and we formed a duo called the Lonesome Spurs. We did that for about five years and toured everywhere. It was easy to load up the car and tour the country and we played 300-400 shows together. We played overseas and became popular in Denmark and Sweden.
AM: How fun is that?
LK: I know…so much fun. Then I wanted a full band again because I started writing classic country music ala Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison and that music just didn't quite fit the duo format.
AM: So that became your album Dream My Darling?
LK: Yes, that was the album I was writing material for.
AM: You wrote all those songs!?!
LK: I wrote all those songs.
AM: I so “get it” now. That album is a dream. It also sounds like a David Lynch movie soundtrack.
LK: That’s what it is supposed to be. It’s a soundtrack to your life on the highway and was meant to have the feeling of living in a dream world.
AM: That is a great album. You must be happy with it!
LK: I am thrilled with it. Oh, and I was fortunate enough to record a duet with Billy Bob Thornton for the album too.
AM: How did that come about?
LK: My husband Johnny Coffin was co-producing my album with his old neighbor, Mike Butler. Mike was playing with Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters at the time, and Billy Bob invited me to his home studio to hang with him and the guys (most of whom I already knew). I mentioned to Billy I had a duet if he was interested, and he asked me to play it for him, so I pulled out my guitar, played it and he liked it! Then he asked me to play more songs, and he liked them all, and said, “Let’s do that duet.” and we laid it down right then and there. Not only that, but he played drums on a couple of my songs and sang background on a couple more along with current Boxmaster members J.D. Andrew on bass and Teddy Andreadis on piano and organ. Billy Bob is a very kind man and he's had a real genuine passion for music since he was a kid. We've had a lot of fun playing music and have played some shows together. He and I have another mutual friend, the southern cult hero, Unknown Hinson and I've toured with him extensively.
AM: Then you recorded more songs at Capitol Studios right?
LK: Yes, it was a dream come true. I was working with a producer who took me in a new direction. I had never explored the range of my voice to this extent, and he opened my mind and voice to the genre of early 1960’s British Pop music.
AM: What did you learn?
LK: I found out I have a four-octave range, bordering on a five. It also opened me up in my songwriting as well. I completed that contract recently, so now I have the freedom to record whatever I want, and I plan to push myself further and beyond any genre of music I've ever focused on before.
AM: You must have quite a bit of material.
LK: I do! I have material written for at least three new albums that will be released in a trilogy. I’m starting with The Lady In Gold which is early 60’s R&B, British Pop. Then will come The Woman In Black, which is a roots-rock, R&B album, leaning more towards early original 70’s style music, and also includes a never before released duet I recorded with Lemmy Kilmister from Motörhead.
AM: I had heard rumors about that.
LK: Yes, it is a beautiful song. It's called "The Mask" and I’m going to release it as a 45" on vinyl. Lemmy is really singing on this song, he’s not doing his traditional Metal sound, and he sounds incredible. Like Johnny Cash in the Rick Rubin American Recordings. The song has a great message and it’s very timely.
AM: When is this coming out?
LK: This track will be released in 2017 in late summer or early fall. The third album of the trilogy is called The Girl In Blue and will feature originals and covers of sweet love songs.
AM: This trilogy of albums will be released over the next couple of years?
LK: Yes, I think I’m going to release the songs as singles first. I love 45’s and so do a lot of my fans in Europe. People in the states are starting to embrace vinyl again.
AM: It was heartbreaking to lose albums.
LK: I know, and they didn’t have to be lost.
AM: Do you have any other projects ahead?
LK: Next, I would love to record a Dance-Disco album! I would also love to record albums of Jazz and the American Songbook songs, a Holiday album, and, who knows, maybe a 1980's-Goth album, we shall see!
AM: I love disco!
LK: I love disco too. Also, I released my Dream My Darling album in Spanish this year called Sueña Mi Amor. You can download it from my web site.
AM: I will love that.
LK: I’m going to release it in French, German and Italian too.
AM: How wonderful!
LK: I’m super excited about doing songs in other languages. I want to use my voice to support people of all nationalities. It’s important.
AM: That’s right. Diversity is important. We must do it. It’s the Artist’s job.
LK: I feel compelled to speak out. I’ve had a lucky life despite aspects of it that have been hard. Everybody has hardships. I’m lucky I get to sing songs for people and bring joy. It’s important for the artist to bring of message of inclusiveness, love, and hope for our future.
