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Interview by Norman Darwen

With family roots in northern Florida, Michele “Sugar Queen” Denise has travelled
the world and is now based in The Netherlands. Someone needs to bring her to the
UK…! Here she shares memories of Christmas with BITS readers, and also a Christmas
recipe. Michele has a new live CD and a cookery book due in 2026.
(www.sugarqueenblues.com)

Do you recall hearing any Christmas blues when you were a youngster?

When we were younger Mama and
Daddy had an old style Hi-Fi…. They
would put on some Mahalia Jackson
Christmas songs which were on vinyl

and the rest were straight blues on
single 45s. One was John Lee Hooker
which we still have in storage! There
was always an unspoken power
struggle about the music. We wanted
to play our music but ultimately
Mama got her way…we always made
whoever was cooking happy.

Were there any particular Christ-
mas songs you remember being
important to your family, blues or
gospel or anything?

Definitely Gospel was important to
my Mama and Daddy had to have his

blues! But the spirituals were very,
very important. One song that was
played over and over was ‘Go Tell it
On The Mountain’. As a child, I did
not realize the significance of the
Sugar Queen spirituals to my parents. My Daddy
who was very much involved in civil
rights; spirituals had a special
meaning. Those songs strengthened
their resolve of hope for things
getting better. My parents often
talked about their Christmases. My

mother received fruit and nuts as a
child and my father received
nothing. They really strived to make
sure we understood Christmas was
more than a commercial venture and
through those songs it was a reflective holiday.