GRAMMY nominated in 2023 for their Chicago homestyle tribute to the blues, Into the Little Blue House, the multicultural, Chicago-based duo Wendy and DB revisits the blues genre with a deep dive into traditional acoustic styles on their sixth family album, Back Home – 2024.
Produced by GRAMMY and Blues Music Award winner Michael Freeman and Wendy Morgan, co-produced by Darryl “DB” Boggs and GRAMMY winner Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, and showcasing the talents of blues icons in Memphis, Austin, and Chicago, Back Home is dedicated to simplicity, self-love, and freedom. The album captures the essence of traditional blues styles and the comforts of home.
Chicago based Wendy Morgan and “Darryl “DB” Boggs have been working together for about twelve years recording what they call family friendly music. But each have a longer history of music behind them prior to their present duo. Wendy has always been singing and writing music, which led to her first album release in 1996. When her son was three years old, she started teaching voice lessons and moved into writing and recording music for children. Her voice has been heard on many tv commercials. She also made cameo appearances in movies and appeared on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
To ensure authenticity, the team traveled to the original home of the blues, Memphis, Tennessee, to collaborate with Blues Music Award-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Doug MacLeod, traditional Delta blues vocalist Libby Rae Watson, and multiple GRAMMY nominee Shardé Thomas and her Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, which is devoted to preserving the vanishing Mississippi Hill Country fife and drum blues tradition and presenting it in combination with other blues, jazz, hip hop, and R&B stylings. Shardé Thomas is the granddaughter of Otha Turner, one of the best-known exponents of the African American fife and drum tradition.
In Austin, Texas, Wendy and DB recorded with three-time GRAMMY nominee Ruthie Foster, whose work travels through a variety of genres: Texas blues, gospel, folk, soul, and jazz. When Wendy and DB returned to Chicago, many blues musicians from Into The Little Blue House contributed their talents to Back Home, including harmonica wizard Billy Branch, GRAMMY-winning drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, and iconic guitarist Mike Wheeler.
Darryl has been a professional musician for over 40 years. He taught band and choir in Chicago area schools and retired in 2015 as band director for the Lindop School in Broadview, Illinois. He continues to develop music for cabaret and orchestra as well as working with Wendy on their music, which includes many charitable events to aid non-profits and developing special music projects with for school groups and community choirs.
The duo released their first album, Pockets, Seasons, Rhymes and Reasons, in 2013. Back Home is their sixth album release. In between, their albums have garnered numerous awards for their efforts on behalf of their work for children and family values. In 2023, their fifth album, Into the Little Blue House, received a Grammy nomination. The duo plays guitar and provides vocals to the album and brings in many guests to help authenticate a traditional blues sound suitable for the family and delivers a folksy sound that can be enjoyed by young and old.
Ruthie Foster joins them on vocals with Anne Harris adding violin on the title track, which preaches the value of community. The duo teams with Doug MacLeod who performs guitar and vocals on “Come to Your Senses” as they tell everyone to “use their common sense”. Sharde Thomas and her Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band guests on “Put Down the Phone”, as Wendy proclaims, “get off the sound, you are like a zombie”. Billy Branch plays harmonica on “Moving Mountains” which references Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks who helped move the freedom bells and challenges others to move obstacles to fulfill their goals.
Wendy Morgan says, “Through unplugged arrangements and heartfelt performances, we wanted Back Home to evoke a sense of nostalgia and warmth, and I really think we’ve achieved that.”
From Darryl “DB” Boggs’ perspective, the album resonates deeply with memories of childhood visits to his grandmothers in the South. “Sitting on their front porches, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature, I found music in the simple moments of life,” explains DB. “Back Home takes me back to those cherished memories that reflect the essence of my upbringing.”
Noteworthy tracks include “Back Home,” on which Ruthie Foster sings out the verses in her pure, honest voice, helping create a musical landscape that’s sure to make listeners think, “If this is what ‘home’ sounds like, I want to go there!” “Be You/Walk To Your Own Beat” highlights the African rhythms and and sounds of fife and drum of the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, with Wendy Morgan’s heartfelt vocals encouraging kids to celebrate the uniquely beautiful people they are. The exhilarating “Moving Mountains” and wistful “Reflection” are replete with stunning blues harp work from Billy Branch, while Memphis legend Doug MacLeod takes center stage on “Come To Your Senses” and “Move Them Bones.” “Watching the River Flow” and “Hum Away” are graced by gorgeous down-home vocals from Mississippi’s Libby Rae Watson. Darryl “DB” Boggs brings loads of personality to “Hemingway,” with his friendly, joyful style really lighting up this number about Wendy’s “Wonderdog.” Throughout Back Home, Wendy and DB celebrate traditional blues music through a rich variety of originally crafted songs for young souls and longtime blues enthusiasts alike.
“Boxes and Labels” is a brief spoken poem urging people to not place others in wide-ranging categories and encourages understanding. “Butterflies are Free/Muhammad Ali” tells the story of the famed Louisville boxer and his own fights to be free. Delta blues vocalist Libby Rae Watson sings and plays a National resonator guitar with Bill Stuber on harmonica as they sing when “things are not going well” just “Hum Away”. “Hemingway The Wonderdog” features Kenny “Beady Eyes” Smith on drums which is certainly one song mostly focused on children and the virtues of a dog. Billy Branch on harmonica and Kenny on drums on “Reflection” asks you to “look at yourself…all your prejudice is just ego and pride”. Doug MacLeod returns on “Move Them Bones”, a story of a dog moving his bones.
Bob Dylan’s “Watching the River Flow” again features Libby Rae Watson, Doug MacLeod and William Stuber on harmonica. Next Wendy and DB praise their long-time “Friends”. “Be You/ Walk to Your Own Beat” offers some African styled rhythms from the Rising Stars Fife and Drums. The piano of Roosevelt Hatter Purifoy leads “Peace in the Valley” where we can all “find hope for a better tomorrow” and “hate can be washed away”. The album closes with a brief reprise of the title track.
DB cites that the album brings memories of childhood visits to his grandmothers’ homes in the south “sitting on their front porches, surrounded by the sights and sounds of nature, I found music in the simple, moments of life”. Yes, the songs are simple, but they bring quiet, restful appeal for those who want to just slowdown from all of the distractions that exists in our tumultuous lives today. There are certainly a few songs more pointed to youths, but most are for those of us who strive to find the youth that is still left in us.
Our album was produced by Grammy Winning Blues producer Michael Freeman and Grammy nominated Wendy Morgan, Co-Produced by Grammy winning and BMA award winning Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith” and Grammy nominated Darryl Boggs. “Back Home” features amazing Blues musicians 5x Grammy Nominated Ruthie Foster, Rising Stars Fife and drum (Sharde Thomas and Chris Mallory) BMA Award winner Doug MacLeod and Libby Rae Watson and more. We were inspired by working with such amazing blues musicians and we wanted to create a more traditional blues album for kids,- an interview with us said Wendy and DB.
We definitely recommend you to buy this CD, also from here and enjoy it.
ABOUT WENDY AND DB: Equipped with two guitars, a ukulele, and their voices, the multicultural, GRAMMY-nominated, Chicago-based children’s music duo, Wendy and DB, are committed to working in their community to empower BIPOC children and families. Examining the world with infectious curiosity, they have developed a singular style that is reflected not only in their rich vocal blend, but also in catchy lyrics that focus on inclusion, diversity, love, kindness, and family values. In their recordings, Wendy and DB make it a priority to include as many women and BIPOC musicians as possible. They donate a portion of album proceeds to such not-for-profits as Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots, Xerces Society, A Better Life for Kids, Jumpstart, No Kid Hungry, the Pinetop Perkins Foundation and, on Back Home, The Blues Foundation. In addition to being GRAMMY nominated, Wendy and DB are winners of the Parents’ Choice Gold, NAPPA, and Creative Child Awards. Previous albums include Into the Little Blue House (2022 release; 2023 GRAMMY nomination), Hey Big World (2020; NAPPA Award, Mom’s Choice Award, Creative Child Album of the Year), HomeEarth (2017; NAPPA Award), It’s A Doo Da Day (2015; Parents’ Choice Gold Award, NAPPA Award), and Pockets Seasons Rhymes & Reasons (2013).
Tracks
1. Back Home (feat. Ruthie Foster and Anne Harris)
2. Put Down The Phone! (feat Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band)
3. Come To Your Senses (feat. Doug MacLeod)
4. Moving Mountains (feat. Billy Branch and HHW Youth Choir)
5. Boxes and Labels
6. Butterflies Are Free/Muhammad Ali
7. Hum Away (feat. Libby Rae Watson and Bill Steber)
8. Hemingway The Wonderdog
9. Reflection (feat. Billy Branch)
10. Move Them Bones (feat. Doug MacLeod)
11. Friends
12. Watching The River Flow (feat. Libby Rae Watson)
13. Be You/Walk To Your Own Beat (feat. Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band)
14. Peace In The Valley (feat. Anne Harris)
15. Back Home – Reprise
