Melva Houston

Melva Houston Tucker was an American soul and jazz singer. Houston grew up in the tradition of gospel, blues and jazz. At the age of 13 she won a young talent competition. At the age of 15, she began as a backing singer for the record company Stax Records, where she was involved in recordings by Isaac Hayes, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and Sam and Dave. In the 1980s she toured Europe with the Platters.

Since 1988 she has been touring Spain several times with her own band. After her first successful appearance at the Esslingen Jazz Days in 1996, she toured almost every year in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. She released albums under her own name, but also with Daniel Messina's band and with Ferry Ultra. She died in May 2020 of complications from lung cancer.

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