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Monica Parker began putting down early gospel roots while singing as a child in the choir of the Great Band Missionary Church in Gary, Indiana where she was born and raised. That early exposure to gospel music always stuck with her but it wasn't until later in life that she turned that early love into her life's calling. After spending 3 years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Recruiting Sergeant, she spent the next decade of her life soaking up the rich atmosphere of Chicago where she owned and operated her own engineering executive search firm. In 1987 she relocated to Northern California and began work as a recruiting consultant. Five years later in 1992, after seeing a former neighbor, M.C. Hammer, perform on the Arsenio Hall Show she made the decision to turn her singing talent into something more than just performing for friends and family. With hard work, a powerful stage presence and a big husky voice that claps like thunder, she was soon sharing the stage with Mavis Staples, Gladys Knight, Taj Mahal, Luther Allison, Little Milton, Koko Taylor, Etta James, Bobby "Blue" Bland and other blues and R&B greats. She recorded her debut CD, Get Out Of My Way in 1995 and began receiving praises and comparisons to Big Maybelle, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Etta James for her compelling stage presence and powerful gospel-influenced original blues. The awards and industry recognition soon followed: 1998 W.C. Handy Award Nominee for "Best Contemporary Blues Female;" 1998 California Music Award Winner for "Most Outstanding Blues Artist;" and "Most Outstanding Blues Artist for the Year 1998" presented by the BAMMIE Awards. Citing early influences like Aretha, Gladys Knight, Denise LaSalle, Mavis Staples, Sam Cook, Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson and Al Green, Sista Monica now likes to listen to Katie Webster, Etta James, Irma Thomas, Koko Taylor, Deanna Bogart, Luther Allison, Robert Cray, and Guitar Shorty, among others. This diverse background shows in her music. "I consider myself a vessel. I sing blues, but I also sing soul, R&B, funk and gospel." I rarely use a set list. I just turn around and cue the band based on how the crowd is and how I feel. I may stop in the middle of a set and break into a gospel song if I'm moved to do that," said Sista Monica in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. She has been described as a "blues woman for the new millennium," a "blues shouter dripping with soul," and a singer "with a voice alternately rich and raw, smooth and disdainful, purring and growling." Sista Monica delivers some of the best uptempo, kick-butt blues, low down funk, sensitive ballads, gospel, and sweet soul music. Stand back and look out, because Sista Monica Parker, one of the hottest contemporary female blues artists on the festival, concert and club scene today, is definitely going to blow you away.
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