Teresa Trull

Teresa Trull (born June 20, 1954) is an American female singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer from Durham, North Carolina. She is recognized as a pioneer in Women's music, with her debut album The Ways a Woman Can Be released on Olivia Records in 1977.

She has recorded two albums with Barbara Higbie and one with Cris Williamson. She has toured and recorded with Bonnie Hayes, David Sanborn, Andy Narell, Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Alex DeGrassi, Joan Baez, Linda Tillery, Cris Williamson, Holly Near, and Tracy Nelson. She has performed all over the world, from Puerto Rico to Egypt, and Costa Rica to Greece.

Trull has also worked as a songwriter, with The Whispers among others. She was twice nominated for Best Producer of an Independent Album by the New York Music Awards. her father didn't leave the mountains of Tennessee until he was 25 years old. She spent a lot of time in her youth playing in the woods by herself, for example imagining herself as an Irish battle queen in full regalia which became the subject of a song later in her life. She developed a love of horses and other animals, riding horses as young as age three.

Trull left home at age sixteen, after her mother died. At age nineteen, Trull relocated to New York City. to Olivia Records, then located in Los Angeles, California. Olivia was a fledgling women-only record company, devoted to recording music by women, for women, and about women. The Olivia collective was interested in recording Trull, but had other projects in the works. They encouraged Trull to move to LA, and gave her a job in the company's packing and shipping department until her recording could take place.

Trull's first album with Olivia was The Ways A Woman Can Be released in 1977. It was Olivia's fifth LP release and two singles were released as well. The album's style is primarily folk-rock with R&B, gospel, and country influences, and contains several songs with overt lesbian and/or feminist lyrics, such as "Woman-Loving Women" and "Don't Say Sister (Until You Mean It)." Six of the album's eight songs were composed by Trull, most of them written when she was between the ages of 16 and 20.

Also in 1977, Olivia released the compilation album Lesbian Concentrate in response to Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade. Two Trull performances were included on the LP: "Prove It On Me Blues" (composed by Gertrude "Ma" Rainey) and "Woman-Loving Women" (composed by Trull).

Olivia released a second Trull LP in 1980 titled Let It Be Known. This album also contains overtly lesbian and feminist lyrics ("There's A Light" and "Every Woman"), but the musical styles are funk, jazz, and pop. Guest musicians included some well-known artists from within the women's music community, such as Julie Homi, Linda Tillery, Ellen Seeling and Jean Fineberg from the group Deuce, as well as mainstream artists such as Sheila E. on drums and percussion.

The LP generated some controversy within the lesbian-feminist community because two of the songs were co-written by Trull and a man, Ray Obiedo. Prior to this LP, all Olivia recordings were completely women-only projects, including artists, composers, and technicians. The LP's cover was criticized by some because Trull was wearing make-up in the photograph and there were accusations that Olivia intentionally put sexually oriented subliminal messages on the cover of the LP. The criticism of Let It Be Known from within the lesbian community contributed to the resignation of the Olivia staffer who was the graphic designer of the cover. The recording was also criticized by some for being too commercial in its sound, with one reviewer going so far as to call it a "dull collection of every slick disco cliché."

Years later, Trull reflected on the lessons she learned working on Let It Be Known. The intention of the LP was to produce it with all women, but to make it more technically viable than previous Olivia recordings. She described the recording as a "total financial bomb" and a "big nightmare" to make, because of the desire to use women musicians who may not have the studio experience to give the producer what they want in an efficient manner, which increased the costs of the recording process. While Trull did not produce Let It Be Known, she remembered the experiences later in her career when she was responsible for the finances of other recordings.

Trull left the Olivia collective around 1981, citing a "difference in philosophy." This was the last solo album released by Trull; her subsequent CDs have been collaborative efforts with Barbara Higbie and Cris Williamson.

In 1987, Trull toured as a background singer with The Bonnie Hayes Band as the opening act for Huey Lewis and the News on a national tour that included stadium-sized audiences.

Trull and Higbie's first album together Unexpected was released on Olivia's Second Wave subsidiary label in 1983. Trull also acted as producer on this recording, with a budget of about $10,000. Of this album, a Boston Globe reporter wrote: it "is a wildly and sometimes wonderfully disparate collection of mostly original tunes that speak primarily about ladies, love, and letting go." It was also included in The Boston Globe'''s Guide to Best Albums of 1983.

Trull and Higbie broke up their musical and personal relationship in the mid-1980s, and both pursued solo careers. They reunited again for a performance at the 1991 Michigan Women's Music Festival Like their previous album, Playtime was produced by Trull, with production assistance from Higbie.

Trull and Higbie continue to perform together occasionally, including on Olivia Travel cruises.

Collaboration with Cris Williamson In 1988, Trull was producing an album for Hunter Davis and she hired women's music icon Cris Williamson to sing a duet with Davis, to help with the marketing of the LP. Even though they had been good friends for 10 years, that was the first time that Williamson had worked with Trull in the role of producer. After Davis's album Torn was completed, Williamson approached Trull to make a country album together. Both women had spent their childhoods in rural, agricultural areas with a love of country music.

The result was the album Country Blessed, released in 1989 on Olivia's Second Wave label. They wrote many of the lyrics together, and shared lead vocals as well as performing two duets. Country Blessed received positive reviews in both the mainstream and alternative press.

Career as record producer In addition to a career as a musician, Trull has produced over 30 albums for herself and other artists including Cris Williamson, Deidre McCalla, Romanovsky and Phillips, Barbara Higbie, Higbie said she feels Trull "has become an excellent producer. I've played on enough sessions that she has produced that I'm confident she can get the sound I'm looking for." Trull was nominated for the 1985 New York Music Awards Best Producer of an Independent Album. In addition to solo songwriting credits on all of her albums, Trull has also co-written songs with Gary Marks, Paul Davis, S. Burns, Julie Homi, Mary Watkins, and Cris Williamson.

Non-musical career After the tour with Hayes and Lewis ended in 1987, Trull became disillusioned with the music business. She took a break from performing, focusing instead on producing music and training horses. which was originally created to honor the marriage of King Louis XIII of France. Nineteen dancing horses were shared by fifteen riders in extravagant costumes, accompanied by Robert Ballard's 1612 music on period instruments. Following on the success of the event in 2000, it was presented again in June 2012, with new elements and refinements. She and New Zealand native Michaela Evans started a business named "New Zealand Horse Help", which specializes in a range of services including behavioral problem solving, starting and training young horses, and advanced skills. In November 2012, Trull and Evans were invited to participate in New Zealand's "Equidays" to demonstrate their training techniques to improve the relationship between horse and rider, and in particular their specialized methods of connecting with an unbroken horse. Trull and New Zealand entertainer Jools Topp also performed musically at the two-day event, held at the Mystery Creek Events Centre.

Personal life Trull is openly lesbian. She was linked romantically with Barbara Higbie, although that relationship ended in the mid-1980s and Board of Advisors of the Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), a non-profit teaching, performing and recording facility co-founded by June Millington whose mission is to support women in music and music-related businesses.

In addition to horses, Trull loves birds and other animals. She has bred and shown English budgies. In 1989, she said she owned 35 birds, including a parrot.

Trull has described herself as "a total sports junkie." She was invited to sing the national anthem at a Golden State Warriors basketball game on December 4, 1988. The game was sold-out, with sixteen thousand people in the arena. She described the evening as "one of the most incredible music experiences" in her life, and she received a standing ovation for the performance, as well as the opportunity to sit behind the team bench.

Trull has a black belt in karate.

In 1988, Trull's hometown of Durham, NC surprised her with a "This Is Your Life" type of gala, at which she was presented a key to the city and a special citizen's award from the mayor.

Discography Studio albums

Singles and EPs Song title(s) Album title Record label Stock number Release year Note(s)"Woman-Loving Women"The Ways A Woman Can BeOliviaLF91619777", 45 RPM / B side to Gwen Avery's "Sugar Mama""Unexpected"/"Tell The Truth"UnexpectedSecond WaveLP 2200119837", 45 RPM

Video singles "Flow" (2009)

Various artist compilation albums

Producer credits

Songwriter credits

Guest appearance credits

FilmsOlivia Records 15th Anniversary Concert Highlights (Wolfe Video, 1988, VHS tape)The Changer: A Record of the Times (Wolf Moon Records, 1991, VHS tape; DVD reissue 2005); Trull briefly appears in performance footageRadical Harmonies'' (Woman Vision, 2002, DVD); includes a brief interview with Trull and some Trull performance footage