Teresa Trull

 ( 1954 Births ) 

Trull's first album with Olivia was The Ways A Woman Can Be released in 1977. It was Olivia's fifth LP release and two singles were released as well. The album's style is primarily folk-rock with R&B, gospel, and country influences, and contains several songs with overt lesbian and/or feminist lyrics, such as "Woman-Loving Women" and "Don't Say Sister (Until You Mean It)." Six of the album's eight songs were composed by Trull, most of them written when she was between the ages of 16 and 20.

Also in 1977, Olivia released the compilation album Lesbian Concentrate in response to Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade. Two Trull performances were included on the LP: "Prove It On Me Blues" (composed by Ma Rainey) and "Woman-Loving Women" (composed by Trull).

Olivia released a second Trull LP in 1980 titled Let It Be Known. This album also contains overtly lesbian and feminist lyrics ("There's A Light" and "Every Woman"), but the musical styles are funk, jazz, and pop. Guest musicians included some well-known artists from within the women's music community, such as Julie Homi, Linda Tillery, Ellen Seeling and Jean Fineberg from the group Deuce, as well as mainstream artists such as Sheila Escovedo on drums and percussion.

The LP generated some controversy within the lesbian-feminist community because two of the songs were co-written by Trull and a man, Ray Obiedo. Prior to this LP, all Olivia recordings were completely women-only projects, including artists, composers, and technicians. The LP's cover was criticized by some because Trull was wearing make-up in the photograph and there were accusations that Olivia intentionally put sexually oriented subliminal messages on the cover of the LP. The criticism of Let It Be Known from within the lesbian community contributed to the resignation of the Olivia staffer who was the graphic designer of the cover. The recording was also criticized by some for being too commercial in its sound, with one reviewer going so far as to call it a "dull collection of every slick disco cliché."

But Let It Be Known was also credited with expanding Olivia's audience. It received positive reviews in some major newspapers, including The Boston Globe which described it as "delightful" and "an upbeat LP that approaches those hackneyed themes of love and sisterhood with a fresh underpinning of gospel, funk, and jazz."

Years later, Trull reflected on the lessons she learned working on Let It Be Known. The intention of the LP was to produce it with all women, but to make it more technically viable than previous Olivia recordings. She described the recording as a "total financial bomb" and a "big nightmare" to make, because of the desire to use women musicians who may not have the studio experience to give the producer what they want in an efficient manner, which increased the costs of the recording process. While Trull did not produce Let It Be Known, she remembered the experiences later in her career when she was responsible for the finances of other recordings.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Trull frequently toured with jazz pianist Julie Homi. One Canadian concert reviewer wrote: "Singer Teresa Trull and pianist Julie Homi both showed the type of talent that should have them all over the record charts and gossip mags, but because they have chosen to work entirely in the world of 'women's music,' they generally play in front of dedicated cults only."

Trull left the Olivia collective around 1981, citing a "difference in philosophy." She was a budding producer and wanted Olivia's recordings to be of high technicianship, and she was willing to work with men. At the time, Olivia president Judy Dlugacz wanted to continue to depend on the markets the company had always used and to remain separatist. Even though she resigned her administrative position with Olivia, Trull continued to record with the company's subsidiary label, Second Wave Records.