Caroline Peyton has exceptional range and a distinctive, instantly identifiable delivery and sound. During her days as a folk singer in the late '60s and early '70s, she garnered equal praise for decisive, fluid acoustic guitar accompaniment, energetic, engaging lead vocals, and impressive melodic exposition.
Peyton also did her share of club gigs that delved into jazz, blues and R&B while performing in Indiana along with vocalist/guitarist Mary Flower and songwriter/producer Mark Bingham. Later, she was in the national touring company of The Pirates of Penzance and on Broadway, and she performed songs in such hit Disney films as Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Though she's still far from a household name, Caroline Peyton's getting more notice lately than at any point in her career. That's because some recordings she made back in the '70s were reissued last year by Numero, an esteemed label specializing in vintage and rare material from artists deserving of wider recognition. Now, both old fans and new listeners are embracing Peyton's music, a soulful mix of technical artistry and engaging lyrical flair that encompasses so many genres it defies categorization.
"I love everything from Bach to the Bard to Charlie Parker, and I guess that's part of the reason I never became famous," says Peyton, a Nashville resident who'll perform two shows this week on a double bill with Flower. "I've never concerned myself with anything other than whether or not something was a good song. I started out in the church and I'm still a church singer. I also love classical music, jazz and the blues. So there's never been any one thing I concentrated on, and the main consideration for doing anything has always been whether or not it was a great song."
Still, when it comes to composition, Peyton does narrow her focus. "Songwriting for me has always been a matter of personal experience," she says. "There was an incredible snowstorm in Mississippi a few months ago, and it came during the same time period when I lost my father. That situation led to a really good song, despite the fact it was also a time of great sadness and turmoil. I'm not thge type of singer who's good at doing abstract songs. It's got to be something I can really feel and explore."
An example is "Fishing Blues," a number by the pioneering Texas bluesman Henry Thomas, which Peyton covers in a performance included as a DVD extra on the reissue of her 1972 album Mock Up.
"I remember hearing Taj Mahal do it, and he did such a fantastic job in terms of singing, guitar playing, expressiveness, everything," she says. "A lot of people try to peg me as a Joni Mitchell type, and I love what she does, but Taj Mahal and the blues have always been a very strong influence on me."Â
Her enthusiasm for music extends to other performers, and Peyton says one of her future goals is to make a recording with strings in the manner of great jazz and pre-rock pop stylists. "I'd love to do one of those lush recordings with a big orchestra like Lena Horne used to do," Peyton says. "She was so elegant on the stage, and with those strings behind her and a huge grand piano, that was quite an event.
"I saw Dionne Warwick recently and she was doing that same type of show, belting out 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose' with an orchestra behind her. That's a very special style. But then I'd also love to sit down in the studio with James Taylor and do something totally different."
Peyton, a Mississippi native, moved to the Nashville area in 1991. One of her first projects was a disc of Celtic Christmas tunes. Interestingly, though she's still able to perform the edgy vocals featured in such invigorating reissues as Mock Up and 1977's Intuition, Peyton's revisiting one part of her arsenal for her two upcoming Nashville shows with Flower.
"I put the guitar down for a long time, but I've been playing it again quite a bit to get ready for these shows," Peyton says. "That old Guild-D40 is killing my fingers. But I want to be ready because Mary has become a real virtuoso and I can't wait to get back on stage with her. I know she'll be killing it and I plan to do the same."
Email music@nashvillescene.com.
