Anita White facts for kids

Anita White (born July 18, 1958), known as Lady A, is an American singer. She sings blues, soul, funk, and gospel music.

About Lady A's Music Career

Anita White was born and grew up in Seattle, Washington. She started singing at age five with her family. Her professional singing career began in the 1980s. She was a backup singer in a band that covered Motown songs.

For 18 years, she sang in a group called Lady A & the Baby Blues Funk band. After that, she started her solo career. She toured in the Pacific Northwest and Mississippi Delta areas. Since 2010, she has released five solo albums.

Lady A also runs Lady A Productions, which helps gospel and blues artists. In 2020, she hosted two music shows online. These shows were called "Gumbo & Gospel" and "Black N Blues (the B side)". Her own songs often talk about important social issues and fairness.

Understanding the Name Conflict

On June 12, 2020, a pop country music group called Lady Antebellum changed their name. They shortened it to "Lady A". They did this because their old name reminded some people of the Antebellum South. This was a time in American history when slavery was common.

The very next day, news spread that Anita White had been using the name "Lady A" for over 20 years. The band members said they didn't know anyone else was using the name. Anita White felt this showed a lack of awareness. She said they were using the name because of current events. She felt they should have thought about their name's meaning much earlier.

A week later, the band contacted Anita White. They apologized for using her name without checking first. They said they were inspired to work together. However, they also said they still planned to use the "Lady A" name. Anita White was worried that having two artists with the same name would hurt her career.

At first, she was hopeful about working things out. But she felt the band wasn't clear about how they could both use the name. She later received a contract draft from the band. She said it felt like they were trying to make her name disappear. She no longer trusted them. She then made her own offer. She suggested the band change their name. Or, if she changed her name, she asked for a large payment and donations to charities.

On July 8, 2020, the band filed a lawsuit against Anita White. They rejected her offer. They said they had the right to use the name because they had trademarked it a long time ago. They stated they were sad that their hope to work together had ended.

On September 15, 2020, Anita White filed her own lawsuit. She said she had the right to the "Lady A" name because she had used it for so long. She argued that two artists in the same music business could not use the exact same name. She asked for money for lost sales and for her brand being weakened. She also asked for a share of any money the band made using the "Lady A" name.

This disagreement also affected other artists. In late 2021, a musician named Lilli Lewis released her album, "Americana." Anita White was featured on one of the songs. Soon after, the album was removed from Spotify, a music streaming service. It's not clear why this happened. It might have been because Spotify's system got confused. Or it could have been because of the legal fight over the "Lady A" name. The album was put back on Spotify about two weeks later.

In February 2022, news came out that Anita White and the band had settled their lawsuit. They asked a judge to close the case. The details of their agreement were not made public.

Lady A's Music Albums

Lady A has released seven solo albums and two singles.

Albums

• BlueZ in the Key of Me (2010)
• How Did I Get Here (2013)
• Doin' Fine (2018)
• Lady A: Live in New Orleans (2020)
• Satisfyin (2021)
• Just Bein' Me (2023)

Singles

• "The Truth is Loud" (2019)
• "My Name is All I Got" (2020)