Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Ellis.
Hi Melissa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Like many musicians, I got my start singing in the tiny old-fashioned Missionary Baptist Church I was raised. My mom could sing and had a natural ear for harmony as well, so I picked up a lot of “ear training” sitting next to her in church. I cut my teeth on my mom and dad’s music as well–the 50s, 60s, and 70s. My grandmother introduced me to the music of Frank Sinatra and I became an instant fan.
Growing up, I’d always find a musical outlet whether it was through choir, talent shows, band, or piano lessons. Then at 15, I got involved with the Cumberland County Playhouse and I never looked back. I fell in love with stage performance, gave up sports and other extra-curricular activities, and went ALL IN with musical theater!
I signed my first professional contract at 16 when the Cumberland County Playhouse opened their first season ever of “Smoke on the Mountain” which is a bluegrass-gospel musical, so I felt right at home with the show. The pre-requisite to audition was that I needed to be able to play an instrument and sing–which I had really never done much before–so I auditioned with Ricky Nelson’s “Traveling Man” on piano and vocals and got the part of Denise Sanders, one of the twins. (haha!).
While doing that show, I became close to other castmates who encouraged me and guided me in learning other instruments. I learned that I had a pretty natural knack for learning them too–guitar, mandolin, double bass, banjo. Of course, I was strongest at vocals, I continued that show (as well as several others), through most of college. First at Roane State Community College in Harriman as a vocal performance major, then to Tennessee Technological University as a Music Therapy major, studying classical voice as well as jazz; I really had a passion for jazz.
I did regional theater, a few tours, and even did a small stint at the Ryman Auditorium. Eventually, I left the theater and tried my hand at country music–because let’s face it… we live in Tennessee. I did my bar circuit in Nashville as well as other areas in Tennessee only to find that although I loved music and wanted to do it for the rest of my life, I did not want to do country and I really didn’t care if I was ever famous. I just wanted to play music.
I dabbled in bluegrass for a bit and even recorded my first album ever in 2009 which was a bluegrass-gospel album that also featured an acoustic version of Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou” as well as my first songwriting effort, “Crossville”, about my hometown that I missed while new to living in Knoxville.
I promoted that album for a couple of years before I realized that I needed to pick a lane (music style/genre) that I was in total sync with and made me 100% happy making it… and that was jazz. I wouldn’t refer to myself as a purist when it comes to jazz, because I have had so many influences in my style, so I’m often referred to as pop-jazz and blue-eyed soul… with a southern accent. But make no mistake, I’m not country.
2018, I had many fantastic opportunities that gave me more confidence in where I was artistical. I was given the opportunity to play in Paris, Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Brussels as well as play for the CMAFest in Nashville. (Though I’m not country that southern accent definitely gives me a connection to country fans). In 2019, I won the opportunity to represent the Smoky Mountain Blues Society as a solo/duo artist at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, which took place in early 2020 before we were shut down due to the pandemic.
During the shutdown, though, I grew my online audience. I took advantage of social media and was able to make fans outside of the Tennessee area–reaching throughout the states as well as connecting with many in Europe!
I’m currently in the studio working on three album projects as well as revamping the full 4-piece band I had before 2020 and adding a full brass section! I have a feeling that 2022 may be the year I expected in January 2020!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Some of my greatest struggles have been rooted in sexism, ageism, and Christianity, as well as confidence in who I am as an artist. For starters, it has been a constant battle to shake the self-consciousness that accompanies being a Christian and sing about some very risqué content at times.
It seems childish to worry about something so trivial, but the truth is some people are childish in their judgments about you because you sing about situations that are relatively taboo. I lead worship on the weekends at a wonderful church and Saturday night I could be singing “Dirty Little Secret” which is a sexy song about what was expected to be a one-night stand (with my husband years ago).
I even make jokes about it being neither “dirty” nor a “secret” because I wrote a song about it and we’re married. I also wrote a song called “Sleeping with the Enemy” which is about someone I was involved with years ago that I learned is now a repeat registered sex offender–something that really scared me; I could have ended up with that man because the signs weren’t really there when we were dating, or at least I was unaware of the signs.
So instead of freaking out about it, I wrote a song about it. Some people may view me as promiscuous due to the song title alone–which a song title means nothing sometimes–and that doesn’t really jive with the Christian image. Still, I carry on with transparency because I’ve said for years it was my superpower.
The same could be said for being a mom and wife. Some of my songs, and some of my promotional photos, may give off an image that doesn’t align itself with who I am at home. I’m a mom of four boys, ages 3 to 18. Happily married. I do my best not to bring a negative image onto my family, but some people can be so cruel and my husband and definitely kids don’t deserve that.
As far as struggles out of my control, I regularly face the hard truths of sexism and ageism. Generally speaking, it’s hard being a female artist. I have lost count of how many times I’ve tried booking at an establishment or venue where the manager expects me to bring a male musician to accompany me because they can’t grasp the concept of women playing for themselves as men do. I went to school and studied hard to “keep up with the boys” and do a fine job of it. I’ve been both a participant and a spectator of local and regional shows and it never fails.
Women receive wolf-whistles, crude gestures, and remarks, as well as insulting offers to help them play their music (because it’s assumed we can’t carry a show on our own). We’re just not taken seriously–we’re just “eye candy”. I’ve even had to guard myself when leaving my shows from obsessive male fans. I have yet to see a male musician encounter that thing personally. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but there’s an unexplainable vulnerability that comes with being a female musician… and I don’t even play in dive bars where many would expect this to occur.
A more recent and shocking struggle I’ve had as a female musician is the expectation of what we should look like. It’s a cold hard truth that many find appalling but unbelievable. I’m over the age of 40 and have had four births, my last birth at 42. Gravity and time are definitely working against me as well as my low metabolism and the lack of time to fully care for myself, especially while on the road.
Early this year I reached over 200 lbs… I was mortified… but after a hard year of a pandemic and the loss of my mother in 2020, depression got the best of me and I gained weight–a lot of weight. I’m only human. However, I have turned away from venues that I previously had a great association with while they skirted around the verbiage of “fitting a younger crowd” or “marketability”.
Their responses were staggering to me so I second-guessed myself on how I perceived their words for a long time till I was able to crawl out of my depressing little hole and lose weight and get healthier–and I did that for ME and MY FAMILY. Suddenly, I’m booking with ease again. The message was pretty loud and clear to me after that.
This is wrong and we as women should do everything in our power to change that. I’m an artist, a musician; not a model. I’m not sexy? Fine. Do people enjoy watching a younger woman half my size instead of me? Good for them. I see my real value and I know others who are far less shallow that sees my value as well and those are the people I play music for now.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I try my best to set myself apart from the others within my genre of jazz/blues and I feel that simply being myself on stage and creatively has been a huge asset to achieving that goal. While studying voice in college, I struggled with diction due to my southern accent because jazz and classical are to sound clean of regional accents.
However, it’s become part of my signature sound today. I’m not a jazz purist but I have a jazzy style. I can do Gershwin one minute and then the next song could be a Sam Cooke hit, still in my southern-jazzy style.
My voice was classically trained for a long time and is smooth and well-controlled like other jazz vocalists, however, every once in a while you can catch a slight “yodel”, if you will, in certain peaks of a song–like Sarah McLachlan or Brandi Carlile, which neither of those women is jazz artists. But they clearly have influenced me and my sound. The same goes for the bluesy growl I have.
I’ve done it for years since I was a teen, it’s just a part of my style–but it’s definitely not jazz either. More in line with Blues. Still, I’m considered jazz or pop-jazz. Purists probably wish I’d either jump completely on or off the jazz train, but I’m a great fit for those who may not be strong jazz listeners. I bridge that gap.
Another thing that sets me apart from other artists and something I’m most proud of is my family. I’m a mom of four boys and happily married. I make no secret of that on stage and my guys very much shape who I am as a human being and as an artist.
My husband, Matt, will often play drums for me too… that’s when we call ourselves Matt + Mel. Maybe someday one of my boys will accompany me on a song. They each have their own unique gift in music. A family that PLAYS together STAYS together… right?
What were you like growing up?
I was a feisty drama queen from the beginning. I had a short temper and was very competitive–even in areas I had no experience in.
My Grandma Perdue nicknamed me “Spitfire” as a toddler and it stuck with me through the years. I even wrote a country song titled “Southern Spitfire” and although the song itself is mediocre in my opinion, I like the dynamic and branding idea of being a Southern Spitfire, so I created my own branding site after the idea and hope to have it making ground in 2022.
As the oldest of three girls, I basically followed the interests I felt was expected of me. I played sports because my parents were athletic in their younger years. I was agile, but not really athletic. I would always find myself being pulled toward performance and music though.
By the time I reached my sophomore year of high school, I threw in the towel of resistance and simply became myself–artistic and different from the rest of my family. And what do you know? My family was totally good with that. I was too. It beat the heck out of trying to be someone I wasn’t.
I often tell people that I was like a chameleon in high school. I would get along with whoever I was hanging out with at the time. Ultimately though, I was too conservative and “normal” for the artsy kids and too artsy for the regular, normal (and popular) crowd.
By college, I was engrossed with the arts and others who were like-minded. That’s when I gained most of my foundations for artistic growth. We always seem to find our “people” during our 20s. Maybe it’s because by then if you move from your comfort zone, you find others who are also searching for their niche in life and losing interest in what the in-crowd tells you is cool?
But I was always interested in entertainment–music, dance, art, writing, movies… I love horror movies. Always have. I enjoyed the adrenaline rush of being scared like some would a roller coaster. One of my bucket list goals was to be in a horror movie and although that has yet to happen, I did write a somewhat horror (paranormal-romance) book titled “ShadowShifter” that was published in 2008.
If I couldn’t be a musician, a writer would be my next choice.
Contact Info:
- Email: Mel@MelissaEllisMusic.com
- Website: www.MelissaEllisMusic.com
- Instagram: @MelEllisMusic
- Facebook: www.Facebook/MelissaEllisMusic
- Twitter: @MelEllis_Music
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/melissaellismusic
- Other: linktr.ee/MelissaEllis
Image Credits
Ashley Anne Photography, James Crowley Photography, Christie Bolin Warner Photography, Walt Riches Photography, and Landon Amonett Photography
