‘Grief was a really heavy burden’ — singer Corinne Bailey Rae on loss, faith and celebrating black role models

As singer Corinne Bailey Rae prepares for the annual Rock Against Homelessness concert in aid of Focus Ireland, she shares how her mother and her faith kept her going after the death of her first husband, and why her latest album champions the stories of black women in history

“My parents’ divorce was kind of unusual because my parents continued to hang out. My dad would just come round and then we’d all just be in the same room" - Corinne Bailey Rae. Photo: Koto Bolofo

Barry Egan

In 2010, when Barack Obama was US president, he invited Corinne Bailey Rae to perform at the White House. At the concert, Michelle Obama told the singer that she was on her iPod; and that herself and her husband often listened to her music. The former first lady wasn’t just paying lip service. In the summer of 2016, Barack Obama told the world that the song Green Aphrodisiac — from Bailey Rae’s album The Heart Speaks In Whispers — was on his official playlist.

Growing up, such an experience would have seemed fantastical to a black, working-class girl from the north of England. Growing up, there was no money for a family car, let alone the guitar that she wanted. And the routes to musical accomplishment seemed more difficult, if not blocked entirely, because of the colour of her skin.