Candye Kane
(born November 13, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter and performer best known in the Blues and Jazz genre. [1] She has been included in the Rolling Stone Guide to Jazz and Blues,
Elwoods blues
by Dan Aykroyd, The Blueshound Guide to Blues,
Allmusic
and several other blues books and periodicals. She was included on the 30 Essential Women of the Blues
CD set released by the House of Blues record label and the Rock for Choice
compilation. She also appears along with her L.A. country music contemporaries, Lucinda Williams and Dwight Yoakam on a Town South of Bakersfield
on Enigma Records. Kane is also a frequent talk show guest. She is also famous as a retired adult model and pornstar.
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CANDYE KANE TICKETS
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Early life
Candye, from a
Jewish family, was born and raised in east LA. She had a difficult childhood marked by a missing father and a verbally abusive mother who taught her to
shoplift at the age of nine. She dabbled in the
gang culture, and she became an
unwed mother at the age of 17. In late 1983, when she turned 18, she got into the adult entertainment industry and became an
adult model and a
stripper. From 1983 to 1985 she appeared on the cover of more than 100
adult magazines including
Juggs
,
High Society
, "
Voluptuous", and
Gent
. She came out of retirement for one photo session in 1997 for Voluptuous Magazine. Kane is currently featured in Bernard Taschen's coffee table book, The Big Book of Breasts. Kane was also a regular contributor to
Gent
as an advice columnist. During this time she also starred in sixteen
hardcore X-rated videos.
Music career
Kane had musical aspirations as a child and appeared on the Ted Mack Amateur hour. She sang in church and auditioned for the Gong Show. She was accepted into the USC Music conservatory's junior opera program in 1976 but disliked opera and dropped out. she was a teenage mother at 17 and became part of the
punk rock music scene of the early 1980s. She started
country punk bands and befriended and shared the stage with musicians as diverse as
Fear,
Black Flag,
Social Distortion,
Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs,
The Screamin Sirens,
Tex and the Horseheads,
James Harman,
The Circle Jerks,
Los Lobos,
The Bags,
The Blasters,
The Gears,
Lone Justice and
Dwight Yoakum.
In 1985, she caught the attention of CBS/Epic A&R Head,
Larry Hanby. She was signed to a developmental deal and recorded her first demo with Grammy Winner
Val Garay. Kane was initially marketed as a country singer but CBS dropped her when they found out about her controversial past.
[2] Managers and agents encouraged her to lose weight, renounce her past and change everything about herself.
In 1986, she moved from
Los Angeles to a sleepy beach community in
San Diego. She married bass player
Thomas Yearsley of
rockabilly power trio
The Paladins, gave birth to another son, and became a
Women's Studies Major at
Palomar Community College. She continued to write songs and accidentally discovered the brash blues stylings of
Big Maybelle,
Ruth Brown,
Big Mama Thornton,
Etta James and
Bessie Smith. She identified with the blues as a kind of music in which women had colorful pasts - many were plus-sized, most had grown up in oppressive, horrible circumstances and yet were still able to make music and celebrate their sexual lives. Kane began singing the blues.
In 1991, she self-released
Burlesque Swing,
her first recording since
A Town South of Bakersfield
. In 1992 was signed by
Clifford Antone to a record deal with
Antones Records. Her first cd,
Home Cookin’
was produced by
Cesar Rosas (of
Los Lobos) and
Dave Gonzales and Thomas Yearsley of the Paladins. It included guest performances from the likes of
Chris Gaffney and
Dave Alvin. It was released in 1992 followed by
Knock Out
. She then signed with
Discovery Records releasing
Diva La Grande,
produced by
Dave Alvin and
Derek O'Brien. Next, she was signed by record mogul
Seymour Stein during the height of the swing revival. She released
Swango
which was produced by
Mike Vernon for
Sire/London Records (her only major label debut to date.) This was followed by Kane's
Rounder/Bullseye
release, "
The Toughest Girl Alive" produced by
Scott Billington. Next she released four cds on the German Label
Ruf Records. Subsequent titles include
Whole Lotta Love
produced by
Val Garay and
White Trash Girl
produced in
Austin by
Mark Kaz Kazanoff. In 2007, she released Guitar'd and Feathered on the RUF records label. The cd was produced by former Muddy Waters guitarist, Bob Margolin.
A stage play about Kane's life will debut at San Diego's Diversionary Theater in January 2009. The play is directed by award winning Choreographer and Director of the San Diego Ballet, Javier Velasco. The play is called The Toughest Girl Alive and is based on Kane's memoir about her turbulent life.
Personal life
In March 2008, Kane revealed on her web site that she has been diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer and is undergoing treatment. (Actually the tumor was found to be a neuroendocrine tumor and was successfully resected on
April 18,
2008 at UCSD Medical Center/ Thornton Hospital by Dr. Andrew Lowy.)
[3]
She appears often at
Gay Pride festivals worldwide and identifies openly as a
bisexual.
[4]
She has two grown sons, one of whom - Evan Caleb - plays drums in her road band.
Talk show guest
Her background as an L.A. punk rock anarchist and her outspoken activism for the disenfranchised make her a sought after talk show guest and interviewee. She has appeared on
Donny and Marie
,
Penn and Tellers Sin City Spectacular
,
Queen Latifah
,
Roseanne
,
Maury Povich
,
Montel Williams
,
Leeza Gibbons
,
The Point with Greta Van Susteren
,
MTV News
and
HBO Sexbytes.
Songwriting
Kane is a composer and writer of songs such as "The Toughest Girl Alive" on the
Hidden Palms
series for the CW network, "Who do you love? Its alright" nominated for an OUT music award, "200 Pounds of Fun" featured in the motion picture,
The Girl Next Door
; "For Your Love" included on an episode of the
Chris Isaak show
; "Please Tell Me a Lie" in the motion picture
Heavy
starring Deborah Harry; "You need a Great Big Woman to show you how to love" on the Oxygen Network series,
Strong Medicine
; "The Lord was a Woman", recorded by comedienne Judy Tenuta are just a few titles from Candye’s abundant catalog of original music.
Current career and touring
Her eighth CD, released in May 2007,
Guitar’d and Feathered
features performances by Candye’s closest guitar playing pals. Ana Popovic, Sue Foley, Junior Watson, Dave Alvin, Popa Chubby, Bob Brozman, Kid Ramos, Jeff Ross and Heine Andersen. Produced by former Muddy Waters guitarist, Bob Margolin who also lends his guitar skills to the works.
Kane is now signed to Los Angeles's Delta Groove records and will record a new cd for this label in February 2009.
Kane tours worldwide more than 250 days a year. She has appeared in countless countries and on many prestigious festivals including the Ascona jazz Festival, Midem. The Paleo Festival, The Monterey Jazz Festival, The Dubai Jazz festival, The Waterfront Blues Festival, the Notodden Blues festival and many, many more. She has played for the President of Italy at the French Embassy in Rome and at the Cannes Film Festival. Her music is often featured on
Bluesville
on XM radio.
Drag queens around the world perform Kane's material. San Francisco Drag Queen performer Pussy Tourette recorded Kane's composition "All you can eat and you can eat it all night long." The Toughest Girl Alive was lip synched on the
CW network show
Hidden Palms
- She is set to release Her new cd "Superhero" on June, 17, 2009.
Awards
Kane is currently nominated for a
National Blues Foundation Award for Best Contemporary Blues Female of 2008. www.bluesfoundation.org She has won numerous awards, including the Best Blues Band award at the
San Diego Music Awards 7 times, including in 2006. Other recent honors include winning an
OUT music award in 2006 for Best Art Design for her 7th CD,
White Trash Girl
; Best Blues CD of 2005 at the
San Diego Music Awards; the
Trophees France International Award 2004 for Best International Blues Chanteuse and Artist of the Year. She also unseated
Jewel for Artist of the Year at the San Diego Music Awards and won the
California Music Award for Best Swing-Cabaret Artist. In May 2007, Kane won an award for Best Original Blues composition by the
West Coast Songwriters Association for her song, "I'm my own worst enemy".
Discography
- Superhero (2009)
- Blues Caravan with Dani Wilde and Deborah Coleman (2008 RUF)
- Rich Mans War compilation (2008 RUF)
- Guitar'd and Feathered (2007)
- White Trash Girl (2005)
- Best of Doo Wop II (Rhino 2004)
- Diva La Grande (2004 RUF reissue)
- Whole Lotta Love (2003)
- The Toughest Girl Alive (2000)
- Hard Headed Woman - A Tribute to Wanda Jackson (Bloodshot 2000)
- Any Womans Blues (2000)
- 30 Essential Women of the Blues (1999)
- Swango (Sire/London 1998)
- Diva La Grande ( Antones/ Discovery 1997)
- Rock For Choice compilation (Enigma 1996)
- Knockout (1995 Antones)
- Texas Rocks! (1995 Antones)
- Home Cookin' (1994 Antones)
- Burlesque Swing (1987 self release)
- A Town South of Bakersfield Part II (1984 Enigma)
Filmography
- Boobsville Cabaret (1998) (V)
- Best Of Breasts 3 (1995) (V)
- Blue Vanities S-579 (1995) (V)
- Candy's Back (1995) (V)
- Blue Vanities 221 (1994) (V)
- Candye Kane (1992) (V)
- Big Tit Orgy 4 (1991) (V)
- Ten Years of Big Busts (1989) (V)
- The Best of Titfucking (1988) (V)
- Bra Breakers Vol. 1 (1988) (V)
- Legends of Lust 2: Christy Canyon(1987) (V)
- Let Me Tell Ya Bout Fat Chicks (1987) (V)
- Best of Big Busty (1986) (V)
- Between My Breasts 3 (1986) (V)
- Bouncin' in the U.S.A. (1986) (V)
- Big Melons 5 (1985) (V)
- 2 Tons Of Fun (1985) (V)
- Huge Bras 4 (1985) (V)
- Big Busty 17 (1986) (V)
- Big Busty 14 (1986) (V)
- Big Melons 3 (1985) (V)
- Diamond Collection 65 (1985) (V)
- I Want It All (1984) (V)
- Big Busty 5 (1984) (V)
- Candy Girls 4 (1984) (V)
- Huge Bras 2 (1983) (V)
- Big Busty 3 (1983) (V)
References
- Although she has also recorded country western songs and is mentioned in several guides to California Country music.
- see above, regarding her career in the adult magazine business.
- Candye Kane -- News
- Candye Kane's bodacious blues