Mary Lane born 23 November 1935

Lane was born in Clarendon, Arkansas. She began singing as a child in her rural hometown with street player Al Montgomery. Later she was honing her skills in local juke joints such as her uncle’s jointly owned White Swan in Brinkley, Arkansas in the company of Howlin' Wolf, Robert Nighthawk, Little Junior Parker and James Cotton. 

 “That’s where I was brought up,” says Mary. “That’s where I met all the guys. It was my uncle’s club by marriage, the White Swan nightclub, right by the railroad tracks. Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland (played) at the big old White Swan club, and in the back they had a little gambling spot back there in the back. A lot of guys that weren’t playing, they’d go back there and gamble. We’d be up there singing. They had a lot of different bands there. Howlin’ Wolf, he let me up in there. Little Milton and all the big guys, they played there.” Soon she branched out. 

Morris Pejoe

Those smoky, rough-hewn Arkansas juke joints couldn’t hold Mary forever. In 1957, she migrated north to Chicago, then a little further north still to Waukegan, Illinois, which hosted its own small but vibrant blues scene. Guitarist Morris Pejoe was a regular attraction in Waukegan, and Mary became involved with him, both personally and professionally. Pejoe was already an established name on the Windy City blues scene. The pair moved to Chicago in 1961 and raised a family before going their separate ways during the early ‘70s. 

While singing with Pejoe’s band under the sobriquet of Little Mary, Lane cut her 1964 (or thereabouts) debut single for Freddy Young’s Friendly Five label with Pejoe on guitar and Henry Gray manning the ivories. The driving “You Don’t Want My Loving No More” borrowed its opening 12 bars from a then-recent Chicago blues instrumental smash. A  favourite  among peers for her dulcet tones, she nevertheless did not record again for several decades, remaining virtually unknown outside of the Chicago blues faithful. But even without fresh vinyl to showcase her vocal talents, Lane remained in demand in local clubs. 

Lane went right on performing during the ‘70s, sharing stages with Hip Linkchain, Lonnie Brooks, Johnny Christian, and Denise LaSalle. At the beginning of the ‘80s, she put in a long stint at the fabled Theresa’s Lounge on the South Side. Finally in 1997, Lane finally released her debut CD, Appointment with the Blues, on the Noir label. It was a fine representation of the no-frills West Side blues approach, with Johnny B. Moore and Robert Mell splitting guitar duties, Detroit Junior on the 88s, and Mary’s husband, Jeffery Labon, holding down the bottom on skin-tight bass. All too few people noticed its existence. 

Unlike so many of her peers, Lane doesn’t tour Europe on a frequent basis. In fact, she’s only visited the continent once due to the fear of flying. As the last of her generation of woman blues singers to grace the Chicago scene, Mary Lane is a treasure. “It is such an honour to have her on Women of the Blues Records,” says Orman Weiss. “I hope it can help raise awareness of who she is, to have her music played on radio stations around the world, for Mary and her No Static Blues Band to get more dates playing out and to be recognized by music organizations like the Blues Foundation, because Mary Lane is the real deal.” 

“I’m just trying to do something and get a little pleasure out of my work I did before I leave here,” says Lane. “I know I ain’t going to be here forever, but I’m doing what I can while I’m here. And all of my good friends that I know that really sang the blues and was down with the blues, they’re gone. So I feel grateful. 

“I really haven’t got the break that I think I deserve. But I haven’t given up yet. I may give out, but I ain’t gonna give up!” Lane was the subject of the documentary I Can Only Be Mary Lane and released Travelin' Woman under the new Women of The Blues record label as the label's first artist. Lane is taking the recent accolades in stride. "Until I can't do it no more, I'll be out here," she says. "I still got it." 

(Edited from Blues Blast magazine & AllMusic)