Sonoma’s Misty Browning remembered as musician, activist

Before she died, beloved local singer/songwriter Misty Adana Aleyce Browning left behind a rich legacy of music, advocacy and and speaking out about the Black experience in America.

She was born Adana Aleyce Browning in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1951, but later added the name Misty. She made her living in music, working with big names in the industry as a signer and piano player. In Sonoma, she was also known for breaking out into song as a busker, her strong, soulful voice bellowing out in front of Whole Foods market, the Sebastiani Theatre and around the Plaza.

Browning died from cancer earlier this month at age 71.

She’ll be remembered for her songs, many of which she composed herself. She often spoke of learning to appreciate all genres of music from her mother, who taught her to sing and to play the piano. Notes and songs filled her childhood. Her father was a preacher and she and her sister sang in the gospel choir. She enjoyed singing popular Motown hits with her sister and cousins.

Her talent was undeniable, not only in her vocal prowess, but with star power that made her stand out in a crowd. She got work singing back up vocals for big names. According to her biography on her Facebook page, “A decisive move to Austin provided her work with Jimmy Vaughn and Doyle Bramhall, Cato Hightower (B.B. King), Danny Galindo (13th Floor Elevator), famed guitarist, Eric Johnson, Denny Freeman (Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan), The Sparkles, Fast Cotton, and singer/songwriter Ernie Gammage.”

Later on, she performed in classic rock bands in the U.S. and traveled to London where in 1972 she joined a group called The Flirtations, which once opened for Tony Bennett. They were popular in the UK and toured throughout Europe.

Professionally, she also had stints working in broadcasting and as a school teacher, including substitute teaching for the Sonoma Valley Unified School District. But it was music that was a constant throughout her life.

After moving to the Valley in 2008, she performed at a variety of different events and shows, including a 2017 benefit concert at the Sebastiani Theatre for fire victims and undocumented families in need. Local musician David Aguilar also played at the benefit and has performed with Browning at different venues throughout the years.

Aguilar described Browning as the real deal, adding that she always brought flavor and authenticity to a performance. “She was a treat to perform with,” Aguilar said. “It’s still hard to fathom her being gone.”

Browning often opened her home to friends for impromptu concerts and she encouraged everyone to participate. Sam Rose was one of the musicians who would join in.

“She was a great inspiration to many young musicians who would gather there,” Rose said. “It was always very special. She was a centerpiece in the community.”

Rose said that Browning had a very powerful presence and could draw attention and emotion out of a crowd. “She had a beautiful, angelic soprano voice with a rich vibrato,” Rose said. “She told stories and was always very forthcoming in sharing her experiences of growing up in the South.”

Browning had a lot to contribute from her rich experiences and storied background. “She had one foot in the old world and tradition and country way of life and she also kind of had one foot in the new world,” Rose said. “She would use technology and was aware of current events and social media. She kind of straddled the old and the new.”

Browning loved sharing her songs and her life with young people. In 2015 she performed slave spirituals she wrote herself for students at Adele Harrison Middle School and spoke of her childhood and growing up in a Southern Black church community during the Civil Rights movement. She was proud of the fact that her father was friends with Martin Luther King, Jr.

She was an activist who helped to promote an understanding and appreciation of the lived Black experience in America. She spoke and sang at Black Lives Matter rallies and was moved by the numbers of people, young and old, of all colors and occupations, who came together in the name of change after George Floyd was killed.

“I was just passing by and I saw you marching,” she said at the 2020 rally, “and I just broke down in tears, because I just knew, I can’t believe this is Sonoma.”

When she wasn’t singing she retreated to her haven, her home on a ranch in Glen Ellen. She kept horses and sheep and had two beloved dogs to watch over them. Her friend Lorraine Kakazu described seeing Browning driving around with one of her lambs in the car.

“It was just so cute,” Kakazu said.

Kakazu remembers Browning often heading to Whole Foods to buy her animals treats. “She literally loved her animals,” Kakazu said.

Browning spent most of her final days there on the ranch, surrounded by her pets as the pandemic raged. She was fighting cancer but Kakazu said that Browning was optimistic right up until the end, when she died “on or around Dec. 31, 2021.”

Kakazu fell to tears while talking about how much she would miss Browning. “It’s just going to be so weird in Sonoma without her,” she said. “I just hope she knows how much everybody really loved her.”

Kakazu has started a GoFundMe page to help with the expense of having Browning cremated and returned to Texas where she can be interred with her mother and father. As of Friday, it had reached $5,335 of its $5,000 goal.

There will be a celebration of Browning’s life held locally in the Springs at a later date.

There’s one less voice lilting through the air in Sonoma Valley, but that voice will not be forgotten by the many who were touched by Browning’s life.