Zora Young

{{short description|American blues singer (born 1948)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Zora Young

| image = Zora Young09.JPG

| caption = Young in 1982

| image_size =

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name = Zora Young

| alias =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|01|21|mf=y}}

| birth_place = West Point, Mississippi, United States

| death_date =

| death_place =

| instrument = Vocals

| genre = Blues

| occupation = Musician, singer

| years_active = Late 1960s–present

| label = Delmark
Deluge
Airway

| associated_acts =

| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20140115082439/http://zorayoungmusic.com/ ZoraYoungMusic.com]

}}

Image:zora-young.jpg

Zora Young (born January 21, 1948, West Point, Mississippi, United States){{cite web|author=Linda Seida |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/zora-young-mn0000228234/biography |title=Zora Young | Biography & History |publisher=AllMusic |date=1948-01-21 |access-date=2015-10-07}} is an American blues singer. She is distantly related to Howlin' Wolf.{{Cite book

| first= Tony

| last= Russell

| year= 1997

| title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray

| publisher=Carlton Books

| location= Dubai

| page= 195

| isbn= 1-85868-255-X}}

Young's family moved to Chicago when she was seven. She began singing gospel music at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church. As an adult she began singing blues and R&B. Over the course of her career, she has performed with Junior Wells, Jimmy Dawkins, Bobby Rush, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Professor Eddie Lusk, and B. B. King. Among those she has collaborated with on record are Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim, Mississippi Heat, Paul DeLay, and Maurice John Vaughn.

In 1982, she toured Europe with Bonnie Lee and Big Time Sarah, billed as "Blues with the Girls", and recorded an album in Paris. She was later cast in the role of Bessie Smith in the stage show The Heart of the Blues.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Who's Who of Blues|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-673-1|page=392}} By 1991 she had recorded the album Travelin' Light, with the Canadian guitarist Colin Linden.

Young has toured Europe more than thirty times and has made appearances in Turkey and Taiwan. She was the featured performer at the Chicago Blues Festival six times.

In 2014, she was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category 'Traditional Blues Female' (known as the Koko Taylor Award).{{cite web |url=http://blues.about.com/od/bluesawards/a/2014-Blues-Music-Awards.htm |title=2014 Blues Music Awards Nominees and Winners |publisher=Blues.about.com |access-date=2014-05-16 |archive-date=2013-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131222020203/http://blues.about.com/od/bluesawards/a/2014-Blues-Music-Awards.htm |url-status=dead }} Her latest album, Friday Night (2016), featured Little Mike and the Tornadoes.{{cite web|url=https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/zorayoungandlittlemikean|title=Friday Night - Zora Young|website=Store.cdbaby.com|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-date=6 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406081929/https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/zorayoungandlittlemikean|url-status=dead}}