Product Description
RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 16, 2026 - TERESA JAMES - BAD AT BEING GOOD
Grammy-nominated, rockin' roadhouse blues masters Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps return with music in their signature sound for their 14th album.
Teresa James got an uncommonly early start on her lifelong profession. 'There was always music playing in my house. My dad was a huge music fan. He had all kinds of musical interests, so I was exposed to a lot of different kinds of music.' 'I studied classical music until I was about a sophomore in high school. When I was like eight or so, my dad taught me how to play guitar. Those were the seeds which would eventually lead to a musical career including recordings with Walter Trout, Eric Burdon, Spencer Davis, Tommy Castro, Stephen Bruton, Randy Newman, LeeRoy Parnell, Neil Diamond, and more; plus live performances with countless others, including Marcia Ball, Levon Helm, Lloyd Jones, Delbert McClinton, and Eric Burdon & the Animals. She has been a featured act on Delbert McClinton's Sandy Beaches Cruises for more than twenty years.
James ultimately left Houston at the encouragement of Terry Wilson and his buddy Tony Braunagel, who had relocated to L.A. Terry proved the perfect musical cohort for Teresa. 'His songs are brilliant. I think he's a really great songwriter. And we've collaborated on quite a few, but I think what I bring to his songs in the interpretation is just a good match. He knows the kinds of things that I'm going to be able to put myself into to expand them,' she says. 'Over the years, we have definitely developed a partnership that works.'
James has also done considerable vocal work on film soundtracks and song demos in Los Angeles. One of her favorite composers to work for in the studio is Randy Newman; she was one of the background singers on 'Putin' from his 2017 CD Dark Matter.
Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps remain a staple of the Los Angeles-area blues scene in addition to an international touring artist, with a sound all their own. Moving easily from Texas-style grease and blues into Memphis soul or New Orleans-flavored grooves with fun and abandonment, as one critic said, 'there are no clichés in this band.'
TERESA JAMES
Bad At Being Good
MoMojo Records
Sounding like Bettye LaVette with a Texas twang, Teresa James’s latest, Bad At Being Good, is a soulful serenade that crosses over from blues to soul to rock, often in the same tune. Backed by her stellar road band, the Rhythm Tramps, which includes multi-instrumentalist/husband Terry Wilson, James lays down a scorching trail of tunes regarding sufferers of love-itis, a romantic illness that apparently invokes a lot of blame as therapy.
On “Anything Alright,” James reveals what the love doctoress is up against while trying to get her mojo working: “Everything I tried is not good enough for you,” she laments, as the Tramps lay down a soulful framework that sounds like it came from the Hi Records vault in Memphis. She reveals the dedication and professionalism it takes for the love physician to do her work that requires a chunk of overtime on “Love’s A Full Time Job,” a mix of old school R&B and honky-tonk.
James backs up her soulful wailing with rollicking piano throughout, wallowing in a deep blues groove, on “I Got This Thing” while Billy Watts does his best B.B. King impersonation. James lets her inner Bonnie Raitt loose on the Stonesy “All About The Benjamins,” reminding patients that lovesick medicine comes with a high price. Reworking the home-allergic, alky spouse theme of Joe and Rose Maphis’ “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke,” James pleads with somebody to “Close Down The Blues Bar” to keep her funky music-loving hubby home from the local blues den, with hubby Wilson demonstrating the twangy guitar funk that keeps him away from home.
James cuts loose on piano with some rockin’ jump blues on “We Came To Rock,” a vehicle also suitable for second-line struttin’ as well with a tangy swing in its get-a long. Pinning down the sound is a tough job – the music keeps jumpin’ around like a funky chicken on a hot sidewalk But no matter what you decide to call it, James and the Tramps’ output stirs up the joint right considerable, leaving a roomfulla satisfied believers behind in every venue.
– Grant Britt