Down In The Groove

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

In the biographical notes on the back of advance copies of her forthcoming album, Remember to Breathe (Elektra), singer-songwriter Rebekah, 25, professes her love for such varied musical artists as James Taylor, Garbage, and Earth, Wind & Fire. At a recent performance at the Mercury Lounge, a music club in New York City's East Village, her diverse musical tastes were on full display. She charged through a pop-rock composition she co-wrote titled Sin So Well, and she romped through an R.-and-B.-flavored cover of the Rolling Stones' Get Off of My Cloud. Afterward, she quieted the crowd and sang another original, the introspective ballad Little Black Girl. "It's a minor miracle just to make it to your graduation/when nowhere in your world is there a hint of validation," she sang. "This is not political, it's personal." She told the audience that the song, of all the ones on her album, was her favorite.

Black women--from Tina Turner to Tracy Chapman--helped create rock 'n' roll as it is today. Indeed, Aretha Franklin was the first female inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even so, black female rockers aren't a common sight on MTV, and they weren't a common sight at last summer's Lilith Fair. However, several new artists are hoping to change all that. Remember to Breathe is a startlingly accomplished debut, full of spirit and smarts. And British singer-guitarist Billie Myers' recently released debut, Growing, Pains (Universal), is steadily climbing the Billboard charts; one song from the album, Kiss the Rain, has become a Top-20 single. Both of these artists make rock that draws on soul and folk, yet they each have a distinct style. But one thing they have in common: both have made uncommonly good albums.

Remember to Breathe deserves to cause a sensation. "On my record is everything I listen to," the Cleveland native says, "from a little bit of gospel, a little bit of folk, to rock and R. and B. If I listened to polka, it would be on the record too." And the mix works. Her rock numbers, like the aching Keep It a Secret and the joyful Love Trap, have edge, and they have soul. At her best, she's a bit like Juliana Hatfield with a small injection of Des'ree.

Albums that straddle the line between rock and R. and B. sometimes fall into the cracks. But Rebekah says that possibility never entered her mind. "I don't think about, 'Oh, are black people going to listen to this? Are white people?'" she says. "I do what I do. I know who I am. I'm not trying to be someone I'm not. As long as I'm honest, hopefully it will find a market where someone will say, 'Oh, she's just being herself.'"

Like Rebekah, Billie Myers has wide-ranging musical tastes. "I listen to many things," says Myers. "I love Deana Carter. Alana Davis. Radiohead." Her album is filled with moderately paced, big-hearted rock. Myers has a strong, sure sense of melody, and most of her songs make a strong impression even after just the first hearing. The chorus of the lilting A Few Words Too Many dances along, gracefully pulling the listener in. The stomping Tell Me has an Indian flavor spiced with a flute and a sitar. One of the best songs, You Send Me Flying, with its acoustic guitar intro, is almost a country number. Myers' sweet, mournful alto holds everything together.

Other soul-rockers are poised for success. Alana Davis (whose mother is white and father is black) released one of the best albums of last year, Blame It on Me (Elektra), and played a few third-stage dates for Lilith Fair. She recently got a big break and appeared on the Tonight Show. For every success story, however, there's a performer still waiting for a shot. Last year, London-based soul-rocker Pauline Taylor circulated a powerful demo tape to a number of U.S. record companies. She has still not been signed by an American label. Peter Albertelli, a spokesman for Cheeky Records, which signed Taylor in Britain, says the idea of a black woman singing rock "is intriguing to people, but then they try to find a marketing strategy, and when they look for a place to fit someone like Pauline in, it gets frightening for them." He says Taylor is rejiggering her album and "pop-sizing" it.

Not all the newest soul-rockers are women. Rachid's compelling debut, Prototype (Universal), due out later this year, draws on soul, drum and bass, and even throws in a little bit of punk rock. No doubt he too will initially have some radio programmers scratching their heads as they try to figure out where he fits in. The answer: Great music fits in anywhere.