Chocolate Thunder

Linda Rodney (aka Chocolate Thunder) comes from a long line of strong female voices. Like many soulful singers, Linda began singing gospel in the church choir as a little girl in the 1960s. Linda remembers the advice her Aunt Mattie gave her about singing in front of an audience. 'Linda, don't stand up there trying to look pretty, get into it, tell the story, sometimes you gotta get ugly with it.' From that day to this, Chocolate Thunder gives it all she has during a performance. A favorite at Greenville, South Carolina events such as Main Street Jazz and Fall For Greenville, Chocolate Thunder performs at clubs, jazz festivals and special events across the Southeast, and has been on stages as far away as California, Paris, France and Italy. Chocolate Thunder has performed with artists such as Eddy Kirkland, Big Bill Morganfield, Sunny Rhodes, Little Pink Anderson, Cootie Starks, Elmore James Jr., Shrimp City Slim, Sandra Hall, and has opened for the great B.B. King. In this video, Chocolate Thunder and her band, Gypsy Soul, pack the house at The Brown Street Jazz Club in Greenville, SC. Offstage, she talks about her love of the blues, her love of South Carolina, and her soon-to-be-released CD, 'Ear Candy', which includes 'The Other Side of Memphis', the song heard in this video. Chocolate Thunder will perform at Main Street Jazz on Friday, June 26. Main Street Jazz, a free outdoor concert series produced by Main Street Events, is held on the plaza deck of the Hyatt Regency Greenville on North Main Street.