Corinne Bailey Rae: Church Singing Got Her Started
When she was young, Corinne Bailey Rae sang a lot in church, explaining however that it wasn’t Gospel music, as most people tended to think then. She described it more as Brethren music.
Born to a father who was originally from St. Kitts and to a British mother, Corinne had her share of verbal abuse. People teased her about her hair, calling her the little chocolate girl and insults were hurled at her because they thought she was “Paki” (for Pakistan). She didn’t let that get in the way of her musical career though.
Corinne was born on February 26, 1979 and is famous as an English singer and composer. Her first album was an instant hit in February this year and she’s the fourth female British to have a debut album land in # 1 position. In school, she took violin lessons and began singing in church which she said she enjoyed immensely. Then she made the move to a Baptist church where the hymns were more traditional in nature.
Her love of music grew early, but was made more intense when a local youth leader presented an electric guitar as a gift. Corinne admired bands like Led Zeppelin and wanted to be like them. At age 15, she formed her all-female rock band and called themselves “Helen.” They played in numerous bars and spots in Leeds. They were eventually discovered by Roadrunner Records, but the deal fell through. After that disappointment, Corinne went to complete her degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds. She took on a part-time job as a hat checker in a jazz club, and when business was slow, she was allowed to sing with the band. That’s when her love for jazz music developed. It was also at this club that she met Jason Rae, a saxophone player. The two got married.
In the three years that followed, she worked on some solo material changing her style to be more soulful. She worked with the groups The New Mastersounds and the Homecut Directive. Corinne got her break when Mark Hill of the Artful Dodger approached her to sing one of the songs in their album. After that all eyes were on her, and in February 2006, she released her album. She won two awards in September 2006: Best UK Newcomer and Best UK Female.