Becky Barksdale grew up in Port Arthur, Texas, where her grandfather gave her her first guitar at age twelve. By sixteen, she was already performing with local musicians, quickly earning a reputation for her mature playing and commanding stage presence. Barksdale embodies a rare blend of influences—the Texas blues guitar fire of Freddie King, the fearless independence of Bessie Smith, and the raw, emotional power associated with Janis Joplin, another Port Arthur native. “My biggest influences were all of the other musicians I played with,” she has said, crediting the Gulf Coast’s deep musical culture for shaping her sound.

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After working with boogie-blues legends Canned Heat, Barksdale landed the lead-guitar position with Michael Jackson, joining his 1993 Dangerous World Tour and bringing a fierce blues-rock edge to one of the biggest pop productions of the decade. She later became the first artist signed by the House of Blues music label, contributing to two of their compilations before releasing Real Live, a forceful mix of electric blues and gritty rock. Her EP Cowgirl Blues revealed her country roots—two of her great-uncles were members of the Sons of the Pioneers—and showed her versatility as both a guitarist and songwriter. Critics responded enthusiastically; Blues Revue Magazine wrote that there was “more emotion packed into the dozen real-deal blues tracks on Out of the Blue than racks of others.”

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Even listeners unfamiliar with her albums have likely heard her work. Barksdale’s music has been featured in numerous film trailers and soundtracks, including Mission: Impossible III, Straight Outta Compton, Wild, Terminator, Predator, Inception, Munich, Cold Mountain, Finding Neverland, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. One of her most widely recognized contributions is her haunting rendition of “Amazing Grace,” used in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Her guitar work has also appeared in television promos, documentary scores, and commercial spots, making her one of the more quietly prolific musicians of her generation.

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Her live performances have earned similarly strong praise. Guitar Player Magazine wrote that she performs with an “unearthly intensity,” while Fender Frontline noted her “soft crying bends” and “solos that sting like well-placed uppercuts.” Despite the technical prowess, Barksdale describes performing as an almost transcendental experience: “This may sound weird,” she says, “but often I’ll walk off the stage and won’t know what happened. I get into this zone where I feel completely connected with everyone in the place, and nothing else matters. It’s the ultimate vacation.”

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Becky Barksdale continues to record, tour, and compose for media, carrying forward the rich Southeast Texas blues tradition while carving out a distinctive artistic legacy of her own.