The Oakland Tribune

 

East Bay's Kimberlee Will
Wow Fans Today With
National Anthem

By Jason Bono
Correspondent

Oakland -- Kimberlee has an important role singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before today's July 4 Oakland A's home game.

Thousands of baseball fans will look to her to provide their goosebumps of national pride, and Kimberlee, who goes by just one name, is a good fit for the job.

The singer, songwriter and recording artist has plenty of practice wowing large crowds with national anthem solos, and she's in the midst of a U.S. tour spreading musical messages of -- among other things -- freedom. She also has local appeal, having been born in the East Bay and trained in Oakland.

Oakland A's fans will stand -- some saluting, others removing hats -- when Kimberlee takes the Network Associates Coliseum grass at 12:30 p.m. before the first pitch is thrown in the A's regular-season conference match-up against the Anaheim Angels.

Kimberlee has sung the national anthem at the U.S. Olympics, the Special Olympics and the Grand National Rodeo as well as at home games for the A's, San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, and San Jose Sharks.

The rock, soul and folk vocalist trained for nine years with the late Judy Davis, an esteemed Oakland voice coach who worked with numerous stars, including Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra and members of En Vogue. Kimberlee also graduated from Mills College in Oakland.

"The Fourth of July and baseball and singing the anthem --you can't get more American than that," she said. "It's a special trip, being that I was born and raised in the Bay Area. Oakland has my heart, that's where I learned to sing the blues.

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For more information about Kimberlee, visit her Web site at www.kimberlee.com