Joyce Ann (Lady J) Huston is an accomplished jazz and blues musician, singer, and songwriter. She is the only daughter of Loyce Pickens Huston and Herman Huston Sr., born on January 9, 1962, in St. Louis, Missouri. Joyce’s love of music began at an early age when she played drums in elementary school and danced professionally as a member of the Marquette Dancers at age twelve. At Central High School, Joyce Ann started playing trumpet in the symphonic band and was first soprano in the concert choir. Upon graduation, Joyce Ann attended Kansas University on a scholarship, majoring in music composition and theory. She left after two years to join Albert King’s band as a trumpet player and vocalist, and she eventually became music director. As a professional musician, Joyce Ann used the name Lady J Huston. In 1981, she performed with Albert King on a PBS live performance, Maintenance Shop Blues. Lady J left the Albert King band to accept a scholarship to Howard University where she was a lead member of the Howard University Jazz Ensemble and performed with such notables as Lionel Hampton and Alberta Hunter. Lady J Huston’s career led her to Las Vegas where she formed her own group, Lady J Huston & The Fireballs. For almost twenty-five years, the group opened for multiple national acts and headlined in showrooms, concert halls, festivals, nightclubs, and private corporate events. During those years, Lady J and her group won several jazz and blues awards, and she earned the moniker of Las Vegas’ Queen of the Blues. In 2013, Lady J returned to St. Louis for health reasons and to be closer to her family. In Las Vegas, she was active with the Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Support Group and won its 2006 Barbara O’Rourke Award. Upon her return to St. Louis, Lady J focused on her health, performing only at church. In 2018, The Lady J Huston Show debuted in St. Louis at the National Blues Museum. Lady J has performed this show regularly throughout the Midwest, including at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. In June 2022, Lady J Huston Presents The Albert King Alumni Tribute Show debuted at the Missouri History Museum. In September 2022, this prestigious group of musicians was one of the featured headliners at the Music at the Intersection Festival in St. Louis alongside Gary Clark Jr., Buddy Guy, Booker T. Jones, and other national touring acts. Loyce Huston was born in St. Louis to Buck Pickens and Helen O’Kelly Pickens on February 2, 1939. Loyce’s mother had three older children: Sylvester Smith, LeRoy Smith, and Rosie Smith Morgan. Loyce married and also divorced Herman Huston. She had five children: LaMon Pickens, Karl Pickens, Herman Huston Jr., Joyce Ann (Lady J) Huston, and Gerry Huston. Loyce graduated from Vashon High School in 1956 where she participated in several activities including the concert choir, student council, and swing club. She also sang in church and formed her own gospel group, The Crusaders. Loyce became a protégé of the legendary St. Louis bandleader and music producer Chick Finney. In 1963, she recorded his composition, “I Want a Man Like That,” which charted locally. During the early 1970s, Loyce spent time performing in Hollywood, California, where she performed with several well-known acts including the Staple Singers and Eddie Hendricks. When she returned to St. Louis, she continued to sing in local clubs. Loyce Huston died at age seventy-eight on September 17, 2017.