Hear the Ana Popovic interview and some great songs from her hit CD Still Making History. Plus a new remixed reggae version of “Between Our Worlds”.
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Ana Popovic (pronounced Ah´nah Pop´o vitch) was born in Belgrade, Serbia formerly Yugoslavia. Ana’s father played guitar and had a collection of records. Though many of the records we take granted, her father Milutin had to work hard to get ahold of. Some of the people Ana remembers listening to were Howlin’ Wolf, Albert Collins, Koko Taylor, Snooky Pryor, ZZ Top, The Allman Brothers, and her dad’s favorite Stevie Ray Vaughan. Milutin would also invite his friends over for jam sessions. Ana was also reading Blues Review, Guitar Player, and other music related books her dad could get his hands on. By her late teens, Ana had become a gifted guitarist and formed a band called Hush. A female frontwoman that sang in English was strange at the time, but was still held in high acclaim. With the fall of Communism Hush was now free to travel to other countries for shows. Ana was selected to go to the Utrecht Conservatory in the Netherlands. While there she got a record deal with Ruf Records. In 2000, Ana flew to the US to record with produced by Jim Gaines, who once producer for Stevie Ray Vaughan. In 2001 the CD Hush! was released. She also appeared on a Jimi Hendrix tribute album, Purple Haze. Some of the guests on Purple Haze include Buddy Miles, Eric Burdon, Taj Mahal, Walter Trout, and Bernard Allison.
2002 Recieves Blues Nominations in France for: “Best Singer”, “Best Guitarist”, and “Best Album”.
2003 She releases the CD Comfort to the Soul.
2004 She wins a prestigious jazz award in France.
2005 Releases Ana! Live in Amsterdam as a CD / DVD
2006 After much touring Ana is signed to one of the biggest blues labels, Delta Groove.
2007 Still Making History is # 4 on Billboard Blues Chart & appears in the movie Spring Break ’83.
2008 Ana is still making history with a new remix. She gave birth to a baby boy, Luuk. Ana has also been doing more touring.
Everywhere you go, from magazines like Blues Revue to the internet to a podcast or even the radio, everyone is in love with Ana Popovic’s Still Making History. The way Ana makes a smooth transitions from rock to jazz to blues, and even reggae keeps the listener interested at all times. Besides just having great music Ana has nice, deep lyrics. “Hold On” is about how people should hold on to their dreams. Ana had many obstacles to over come to get to were she is today. Such as having a Serbian passport, which Ana laughs, is not the best way to get into the US, but she kept going strong. “Still Making History” has the line “No more wars, no more pain, no more loneliness / And no worries / Another circle around the sun, be sure / We’re still making history”. Ana told me about how every day (“another circle around the sun”) we should be trying to change things for the better. The song ends with “Why don’t we give peace another chance? / Be sure / We’re still making history”. More great lyrics in the song “Between Our Words” like “
We are building / Bridges of compromise/…/ Everybody deserves a chance / Who’s here to take and who to give? / Women of 28 down in Africa / Deserve the life I live”. Lyrics are not all Ana Popovic has to offer. She can rock out too, like on the song “Hungry” made popular by Eric Clapton from the 1976 record, No Reason to Cry. Ana takes it up a notch, it really rocks. Then you have the sexy, jazzy, blues song “Doubt Everyone But Me”. John Cleary adds some really nice piano behind Ana’s sexy voice. Ana and her family used to listen to Stooky Pryor way back when she was three years old. They could never quite understand what Stooky saying in the lyrics of “How’d You Learn to Shake It Like That”. The whole band got together to listen and figure out the lyrics for this one. When Ana is singing lines like “He said how’d you learn to shake it like that? / Your daddy was a preacher / Oh, but my mama was an alley cat” you know it’s a lot of fun. Ana’s voice is great with a tuff, sexy sound that is only surpassed by her slide guitar playing. An example of this is in the slide guitar playing your going to hear in “The Guitar Solo of the Week”. It’s taken from “Is This Everything There Is.” Ana really shows you what it’s all about on the slide guitar. Then she has “Shadow After Dark,” “Sexiest Man Alive,” and…well, maybe you should just listen to the podcast and let Ana Popovic tell you about these songs. Besides hearing songs from Still Making History, you will hear a new remixed reggae version of “Between Our Worlds.” This is going to be a part of the soon to be released CD, with about five remixed songs from Still Making History. This is in hopes of reaching a wider audience, which should also help to bring more people into the blues audience. If you like what you hear in the podcast please buy the CD. Below are some links to where you can buy the CD. Please tell your friends about this CD too.
Songs played in podcast:
1. U Complete Me
2. Hold On
3. Between Our Worlds (Remix)
4. Shadow After Dark
5. Sexiest Man Alive
The “Guitar Solo of the Week” is from Ana’s “Is This Everything There Is.”
I would like to thank Ana Popovic for taking time to do the interview before returning to Holland.
Thanks to Karen Leipz, Kristal Blue, Kelly Davis, and everyone over at Delta Groove Productions for all their help in setting everything up.
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Blues Music and Interviews
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