Legendary vocalist Rita Graham visits Movie Addict HQ on August 20th to talk about her upcoming film We Are Kings as well as her remarkable singing career and her suspense novel Karma Rising. Rita is noted for her wide-range vocal ability while embracing many forms of Jazz and the Blues. Her impressive background includes touring with the Ray Charles “Raelettes” vocal group, performing with the Harry James orchestra and the Duke Ellington orchestra, and originating the role of Coretta Scott King in the off-Broadway docu-musical Selma. To top off this rich vita, Rita takes on film acting in an eagerly-awaited independent movie directed by Toby Hubner, who calls her "the Divine Diva."  

In Hubner’s We Are Kings, Rita portrays Lilly, the wife of the movie’s main character I Be King (Sammy Blue). These two have been playing the blues at little juke joints all around the Mississippi Delta for many years. But when Lilly goes into a coma, I Be King feels heartbroken and falls into a drunken depression. Fortunately, two teenage musicians -- played by Bianca Ryan (an “America’s Got Talent” winner) and Jonathon Long (Guitar Center’s 2011 winner of King of the Blues) -- try to rescue her.

Hubner describes Lilly as “ kind of a saint in the film, and when Rita/Lilly is in the hospital pretty much considered  ‘dead,’ her spirit soars OUT of the hospital and influences events in the film...directing the action as it were, until all concerned get to their final destination, which turns out to outside her hotel room in an impromptu concert that wakes her up! A happy ending...”

Rita lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and has performed at Atlanta’s Sambuca Café -- where she’s known as “The First Lady of Sambuca.” She opened there for artists like Chuck Magione, Phoebe Snow and Ray Charles. Rita also currently performs with several Atlanta bands and is featured with “The All-Star Georgia Music Revue.”

“Divine Diva Rita Graham” airs on BlogTalkRadio at 4 p.m. Eastern Time (1 p.m. Pacific Time) on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. During the live show, listeners are invited to call in and to participate in a chat. An archived segment will also be available.

CALL-IN NUMBER:  646-478-5668

HOST: Betty Jo Tucker

CO-HOST: Judy Joy Jones

PRODUCER: Nikki Starr

LINK TO LISTEN: Click here.