PAIN SHY, BLUES & TRIBULATION is Judy Welden's seventh album. All the others except for her first album, SHADES OF BLUE, have mostly been country music, with a touch of AC Pop, blues and/or light rock added for variety. She has always been told that blues is her best vocal style and has been wanting to record a CD with this type of format for some years. Please scroll way down, .. to read what a DJ wrote about this album.. and read the many comments at end of bio, from those who have heard it. 5 of the 18 songs have been released as singles (on WHP Records) during 2007, and all did extremely well, with I'M PAIN SHY (also released on Empty Sky) reaching #1 in July. Ms Welden's first album, SHADES OF BLUE, was on a cassette tape and had country songs along with some blues. TOO OLD BLUES and BLUES HAD BEEN MY HANDLE, were the only bluesy songs to be released as singles from that album. Fast forward 12 years to the present when she wrote several lyrics that would fit this type of project...she knew the time had come. Those unreleased songs on cassette needed to be heard. Various songs that had earlier been released on COUNTRY HITS and CHASING A DREAM CDs would also fit the concept, as well, Judy realized. Even though some of them were Country, with one each,AC Pop, Jazz, and Rock, the lyrics all fit. Hoping to find enough of an audience with folks like her, who enjoy many styles of music, she figured why not put them all together. In doing so, this album has something for everyone as we've all known some type of pain. Judy says she might be pain shy, but it has certainly appeared very often on her doorstep over the years. With total faith in God and "never quit" attitude, she has come through a lot of trials and tribulations. She felt her experiences (and the stories of others she'd written about) would be helpful to those who had similar pain or adversity in their lives. It was important to her to include not only a beloved Gospel song(PEACE IN THE VALLEY), but also include her prior released song, CHURCH CALLED THE RISEN SON, both of which give uplifting balance to PAIN SHY, BLUES & TRIBULATION. Here is what a European DJ, Miro Desperak wrote to Judy, and included these same words as part of a 45 minute show dedicated to this album (which he sent on a CD to Judy).. "In my opinion it`s one of the best blues album ever made in the history of recording industry. It`s a masterpiece and it consists of 18 terrific songs written by Judy. She wrote new lyrics to 2 classics "The house of the Rising Sun" (Church Called the Risen Son) and "Peace in the Valley". They are highlights on this special album. Most of the songs are sad and deal with sorrow, pain, tribulation,& strife. Judy has always wanted to do such an album as she reveals she feels blues more than country. Probably the drowning loss of her dear husband contributed to it. Judy is multi-talented as the album is for everybody. You can find on it jazz, swing, rock-a-billy, gospel and most of all a lot of country/blues. Judy sings at ease and she uses her voice so fine to create that special blusey climate. She touches your heart and soul. It's a unique blend of singing and a fantastic group of the best musicians in America. A lot of them are great sidemen from Nashville: for example the late and great steel guitar wizard Hal Rugg and another great steelman Sonny Garrish, the legendary Jim Reeves the "Blue Boys band" front man, Leo Jackson, and too many to name them all. This uniqe blend of deeply emotional singing and sensitive music makes this collection very special. It`s blues to the bone and the heart and soul of CM. Let`s waste no more words. Music is more important. You must better FEEL that bluesy touch than UNDERSTAND it. I`ll leave you all alone with the one and only Queen of country/Blues from Georgia; the one and only JUDY WELDEN and her excellent musicians." Thank you Judy for a great album. We love you and your great music. You are our heroine in CM. Your faithful # 1 fan Miro Desperak **************** Born in PA, later moving to WV, MO, FL and more recently settling in GA, Judy's natural harmony ability comes easily, having started to sing harmony with her family in church at age seven. She has always given the Lord all the glory for the gifts He has given her. Judy has sung from numerous stages, with her favorite being the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, original home of the Grand Ole Opry, where she sang on the same show as KITTY WELLS in the mid 90’s. WOMAN OF THE 90'S, Welden's second album, was released on Treasure Coast Records in 1994. Although the 90's have come and gone, Judy feels these songs will always be relevant and should be available for sale, plus 3 of the songs had not been released until now. This earlier version of the title cut, Woman of the 90's, is AC/Pop style; whereas the later version is Country. Lyrics are included with the CD. Also released in 1994 was FOREVER GRATEFUL, a Christian release on Heartfelt Records. For her 9 1/2 weeks overseas tour the summer of 1998, Judy put together an album of sixteen of her most played songs in an album (JUDY WELDEN COUNTRY HITS - '92 TO '98). She performed at Zevenbergen Festival in Holland and went on to tour in 6 other countries. Her album and songs stayed on the European charts, that included mostly major artists, all summer. Judy released a Christian album titled GRACE in January 2001. The first song on that album, a patriotic duet, (ONE NATION), co-written and sung with PHIL COLEY, from Bowden, GA, was dedicated to the new President of the US and the new Millennium. She received a thank you note from the White House, signed by GEORGE W. BUSH. It became another (Independent) #1 song for her in March, 2001. CHASING A DREAM, a country album released in the spring of 2001, also includes ONE NATION and 16 other original songs. The songs received abundant airplay, especially in Europe. Even though it had been several years since the last album release, various songs are still being played on worldwide radio, having been released on compilations put out by RMCMA Records, Penrose, CO. All of Ms. Welden's songs are available online for digital downloads. Over the years Judy has received many awards and nominations. Her most recent one is HALL OF FAME from CCMA (CO Country Music Assn) for all the years ('93 - '99) she spent promoting other artists as well as herself for worldwide radio airplay. A few of her earlier awards are: International Female Recording Artist of the Year 1999, Album of the Year, (New Country, 1999), Song of the Year (FISHING FOR A NEW LOVE), co-written with Tom Littleby, American Horizon Award and Co-Writer of the Year, with DJ Mia Heylen and Terrance Alan. In addition...Judy was nominated for 6 awards for the year 2001, including Artist of the 20th Century and Artist/Songwriter of the Year. With over 350 original songs to her credit, Judy has recorded 80 of them and most all have charted on the Independent charts, with 8 of them reaching #1. Those were I'M HITTIN' THE ROAD, LOVE CONQUERS ALL, SHELTER IN THE RAIN and ONE NATION (with co-writers Tina Billias, Tom Littleby and Phil Coley respectively), ABSTAIN- DON’T PLAY THE GAME (co-written with Rhonnie Scheuerman), CHURCH CALLED THE RISEN SON (Judy’s lyrics to the public domain tune HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN), WHEN I'M CHASING A DREAM (written solely by Judy)and I'M PAIN SHY (co-written with Marc Rabins). Dozens of her original songs have reached top 10 of the Independent charts and she remained on the Roots Gospel Chart for 40 weeks during 2007, going as high as #3 on the GA chart. Fourteen (14) artists have recorded 32 of her songs. Dubbed “WONDER WOMAN OF THE 90’S” by her then PR man, the late Gene Bear, after Judy released 10 compilation CDs with multiple artists/songwriters (including her own composed /recorded songs) in a 12 month period, she has since stopped releasing the compilations. Her focus now is on publishing songs written by herself and other songwriters she publishes in order to find suitable songs for talented artists. Like all Independent artists, she would love to have a major “hit” herself, thus the title of her album “CHASING A DREAM”. Judy started the TREASURE COAST SONGWRITERS ASSN. (TCSA) in 1993, was the director for 4 years, later serving as Advisor. In 1995 she started FIRP (FAIRNESS IN ROYALTY PAYMENTS) to appeal to BMI and ASCAP concerning equality in royalty payments, requesting that their radio monitoring be updated to modern technology to assure that all songwriters be paid fairly, not just the major ones. Since early 2003 Judy has been a resident in Gainesville. With a successful career that spans more than 35 years, and having been nominated and accepted for inclusion in International Who’s Who In Music and Marquis Who’s Who In Entertainment & Who‘s Who Worldwide, Judy Welden’s musical star continues to shine!