Dida Pelled's Top 5 Songs Right Now
EDITOR’S NOTE: No Depression’s new “Top 5” series features a quick playlist in which roots musicians share what they’re listening to at the moment. It gives artists the chance to highlight their contemporaries, as well as classic songs getting them through
Black News 
EDITOR’S NOTE: No Depression’s new “Top 5” series features a quick playlist in which roots musicians share what they’re listening to at the moment. It gives artists the chance to highlight their contemporaries, as well as classic songs getting them through the days. This installment comes from up-and-coming jazz and blues artist Dida Pelled, whose new album, I Wish You Would was released May 1 via La Reserve Records.
Dida Pelled may be a newcomer to this corner of roots music, but her fifth LP, I Wish You Would, plays well with others. A fixture in New York City's jazz scene, she hosts and produces “The Dida Show” on Radio Free Brooklyn, featuring artists like Cécile McLorin Salvant, Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive, Rachael & Vilray), Cassandra Jenkins, and more.
I Wish You Would boldly embraces the blues of jazz in the style of Nina Simone Sings the Blues. Pelled imbues these nine classic songs and deep cuts with elements of her own heritage (with Iraqi, Thai, and Polish roots) and the musical history of New York City, delivering them through a sultry, queer lens. While some songs like "Hesitation Blues" and "Sittin' On Top Of The World" are quite well-known, thanks to performances by Willie Nelson, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton, and more, Pelled also explores the breadth of the blues, bringing to life songs by jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams and obscure vocalist Gladys Shelley.
Pelled took this same kind of deep-dive approach to music when asked to tell No Depression what her top five songs are right now. She cites the masters, of course, like Dinah Washington and Nina Simone, as well as what she calls the “lost women of song.” Take a listen below.
