Listening to Courtney Santana belt out the refrain to the title track, “Living Through It All,” on her debut solo album for Jesse Dayton’s Hardcharger Records label through Blue Elan, you realize she just answered that question once and for all.
The lifelong backup singer became a fixture in her current hometown of Austin, Texas performing with Jesse Dayton as well as Kevin Russell’s local supergroup Shinyribs, after contributing her vocal talents to more than 30 albums while sha. . . Show More >
Listening to Courtney Santana belt out the refrain to the title track, “Living Through It All,” on her debut solo album for Jesse Dayton’s Hardcharger Records label through Blue Elan, you realize she just answered that question once and for all.
The lifelong backup singer became a fixture in her current hometown of Austin, Texas performing with Jesse Dayton as well as Kevin Russell’s local supergroup Shinyribs, after contributing her vocal talents to more than 30 albums while sharing the stage with the likes of Hootie and the Blowfish, Robert Randolph, Salt-N-Pepa and Musiq Soulchild.
That eclectic background has allowed her to develop a voice that fits snugly under the Americana umbrella, alternating between Aretha Franklin’s gospel heights (“Hardcore Believer”), Tina Turner’s defiant rock (“Living Through It All”), Whitney Houston’s multi-octave range (“Holding My Own”), the husky psychedelia of Grace Slick (“Fastest Way to a Broken Heart”) and the soaring “Gimme Shelter” peak of Stones back-up vocalist Merry Clayton (“Living Through It All”).
Encouraged by Dayton, who co-produced and co-wrote most of the songs with her, Courtney’s solo bow comes straight from her incredible tale of surviving domestic abuse and raising her two children, now in their 20s, living in shelters and even her car for a while. While performing as a vocalist, she found the time to write a book, Off Kilter: Getting ‘Right After Abuse, as well as founding The Survive2Thrive Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing support to displaced and unhoused victims of domestic abuse, and an app, Sanctuary PBC, which offers an “Underground Railroad” to connect domestic violence survivors with safe housing.
Living Through It All is the result of those experiences and proof that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. “The title song is about facing challenging relationships,” said Courtney, who grew up listening to her mother’s record collection as a child in Springfield, Massachusetts, which included James Taylor, Carole King, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight along with classic Broadway musical soundtracks.
“I wanted the listener to feel seen when they’re struggling. I wanted the melody to inspire folks to get up and dance off the blues, stay focused and keep pushing. My greatest wish is it encourages people to know they already have everything they need to make it.”
There are more than a few parallels to the career of Tina Turner, who had to leave an abusive husband to establish her own identity as a rock & roll star. “I feel like the world needs more of that now,” said Courtney. “I love singing rock as well as country, soul, gospel, even pop.”
Songs like the playful, raucous “Fool’s Gold,” about a guy who seemed too good to be true but turned into a “half baked” loser, and Jesse Dayton’s experimental “Can You Dig It Baby?” show a playful side to Courtney, while her incredible cover of Guess Who’s “These Eyes,” originally written by the band’s Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, closes the album.
Recorded in Austin, with co-producer Jesse Dayton playing lead guitar, a rhythm section of bassist Nick Lewis and drummer Eric Tucker, along with keyboardist Dayne Reliford and bass saxophonist Mark Wilson, the autobiographical Living Through It All is a tribute to Courtney Santana’s remarkable journey. Songs like the inspirational “Keep Goin and Goin,” the gospel fervor of Laura Cantrell’s “Hardcore Believer,” Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton’s bluesy “No Apology” and the slow-burning build of “Holding My Own” all offer strength to those facing impossible odds.
“I wanted to offer encouragement to those folks dealing with the mounting pressures they face every single day,” said Santana. “In my life, there were times when I thought I wouldn’t go on, things couldn’t possibly get any worse, but I hear my mom’s voice telling me, ‘Trouble don’t last always.’”
Courtney Santana may have been “30 feet from stardom” for most of her career, but she is more than ready to step into the spotlight on center stage.
“Jesse told me before we started this album, ‘You need to be in the front,’” she said, with the late SiriusXM “Outlaw Country” radio host Jeremy Tepper also among her early admirers and supporters.
“I’m not an extraordinary person, but I was given this extraordinary mission,” she said. “I don’t want anybody to get discouraged like I was when I found myself in a shelter with my two kids after having been chased from my home by someone wielding a gun.”
That blood, sweat and tears can be heard with every single track on Living Through It All, summarizing a blessed life that could have easily ended in tragedy, but resulted in an album that is a triumph in every way, musically, emotionally and socially.
“I had to rebuild my life and keep moving. I want people to see me and say, ‘I’m her.’ If she can do it, I can do it. I just can’t believe this is all happening now. I’m just so grateful,” said Courtney, tears welling up in her eyes. “If I didn’t go through what I did, I wouldn’t be here today. Music sustained me the entire time. Making this album was a healing process.”
After experiencing Living Through It All, one can’t help feeling the same way.
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