Christine Ohlman joins the Saturday Night Live Band on December 15 for the annual SNL Christmas show.
Christine was a founding member of The Scratch Band, legendary throughout the Northeast for their incendiary and eclectic live shows. The band released two LP's: the first was picked up by Decca and EMI worldwide, with Christine's stark piano-accompanied version of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want To Be With You" becoming a turntable hit in the U.K. Beginning in September 1991, a portion of The Scratch Band reunited in the studios of NBC's Saturday Night Live with Christine joining guitarist/vocalist/musical director G.E. Smith and bassist Paul Ossola, both former Scratch Band members, in the SNL band.
At one point, the 11-member group, featuring in its repertoire a heavy dose of Christine's favorite music–southern soul–took the stage (joined by Ry Cooder, Steve Cropper and Maceo Parker) as the house band for The Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards, a performance that was, in Ohlman's words, "just about the biggest flat-out thrill of my life. We were doing 'Tell Mama' and I looked around to catch Steve Cropper's eye only to spot Clarence Carter, who wrote the song, standing in the wings waiting to come on. I thought — well, it just doesn't get much better than this" (although she admits that the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Tribute Concert, where she sang with George Harrison and Chrissie Hynde, among others, edges out everything for sheer historical vibe). While touring and recording with Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez' are the main focus, Ohlman continues to perform with the SNL Band in whatever capacity is called for, including an appearance with Al Green on the show's 25th Anniversary Special.
Labor of Love: The Music Of Nick Lowe features her vocal collaboration with Marshall Crenshaw on Lowe's "Cruel To Be Kind." And her commitment to the blues runs deep, as her scorching duet on "Our Love So Beautiful" with the legendary Eddie Kirkland on his CD's Where You Get Your Sugar (she also appears on Lonely Street); her guest-shot with Charlie Musselwhite on his upcoming One Night In America (Feb. 2002 release); and her appearance on the Songs Of Willie Dixon (with Sonny Landreth & Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown) and 1998 Grammy nominee A Tribute To Howlin' Wolf (with Taj Mahal & Lucinda Williams) give statement.
