O HAPPY DAY IT WAS WHEN WENDY MATTHEWS RECORDED THIS GEM

WENDY MATTHEWS is really one of the most underrated female singers of the last quarter of a century.

Despite achieving some considerable degree of commercial success with her solo recordings from the early to mid 90`s on the Australian music chart, the now 56 year old now finds herself playing to small crowds at small venues, when she should playing to big crowds at big venues.

The Canadian born diva earned her big break to get a record deal in the very early 90's after spending a lot of the 80's being one of the most in-demand backing vocalists for other "big name" artists, including JIMMY BARNES and TIM FINN.

Also after she had been a lead singer in Australian band THE MODELS for a short tenure, a band which also included someone she recently corroborated with for a "blues flavoured album" - KATE CEREBRANO. 

During her childhood and adolescence, Matthews revered great soul singers like BILLIE HOLLIDAY and ETTA JAMES, and the queen of croon herself - PATSY CLINE. 

Capturing their soul and spirit, and adding an element of contemporary rock and pop to the mix, she carved out her own unique synthesis of musical styles - from cool, brooding ballads to upbeat rhythm and blues fueled melancholy. 

With O HAPPY DAY from the album THE WITNESS TREE (1994), she dabbled in some gospel, and the result is an uplifting piece of music to make the soul rejoice.