Description: Dubbed as “Canada’s National Treasure” by Blues FM Radio Show Host Danny Marks, Diana Braithwaite is unquestionably one of the most authentic blues singers of today.
Born into a musical family in Canada, Diana's descendants on her mother’s side arrived in the country from the southern United States via the Underground Railroad where they were given an acreage of rocky land to farm in the Glenallen area. “My father was born in Montreal. Back then, there was a lot of discrimination for Blacks in this country and when my father found it difficult to get the kind of jobs he wanted, he got on a bike and started collecting scrap metal to raise us six kids.”
As a young singer, Diana grew up listening to Delta blues and country and western records and started singing at concerts and events with her brother’s Victor, Cecil and sister Charlane.
“Growing up, I was a sweet kid with a great big smile. Singing was in my blood. Today, I’ve been called the Sweetheart of the Blues. I guess It’s the colourful shows, emotional songs and the way that I live my life on or off stage. Every song that I sing comes straight from the heart.”
Diana’s career as a solo singer-songwriter emerged as a teenager, but it was the opening show for John Lee Hooker at the Brunswick House in Toronto with the Chaser Blues Band, that acclaimed her talent as a blues singer. Later on that same year, Albert Collins invited Braithwaite on the road to open the show for his band.
“Train is a blues woman’s song I wrote in the style of the 1940,s, Grass is Greener is a song about life, Tow the Line is about staying on top of the water.”
