|
Alligator Records
Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using his savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record. Nine months after the release of the first album, he stopped working at Delmark Records to concentrate fully on the band and his label. Only 1,000 copies of the Taylor's debut album were made, while Iglauer took over managing the group. Other early releases for the fledgling label included recordings by Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell and Fenton Robinson. In 1976, Koko Taylor's ''I Got What It Takes'' was nominated for a Grammy Award, and Albert Collins soon signed to the label. Iglauer mainly worked as executive producer. In 1982, the label won its first Grammy Award for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Iglauer
Bruce Iglauer (born July 10, 1947) is an American businessman and record producer who founded Alligator Records as an independent record label featuring blues music. Early life and career Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Wyoming, Ohio. He became interested in the blues during the mid-1960s while attending Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and began hosting a college radio show, then moving on to promoting concerts at Lawrence by Howlin' Wolf and Luther Allison. He came to Chicago in 1966 as a “blues pilgrim” who wanted to check out the University of Chicago Folk Festival. He came to the attention of Bob Koester, and joined the staff of Delmark Records in Chicago as a shipping clerk in 1970. He was a co-founder of '' Living Blues'' magazine in 1970. When Iglauer's advice to sign Hound Dog Taylor & The House Rockers was declined by Delmark, he recorded the group himself, and in so doing created Alli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Cray
Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was stationed at Fort Benning. Cray's musical beginnings go back to when he was a student at Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia. While there, he played in his first band, The One-Way Street. His family eventually settled in the Tacoma, Washington, area. There, he attended Lakes High School in Lakewood, Washington. Career By the age of 20, Cray had seen his heroes Albert Collins, Freddie King and Muddy Waters in concert and decided to form his own band; they began playing college towns on the West Coast. In the late 1970s he lived in Eugene, Oregon, where he formed the Robert Cray Band and collaborated with Curtis Salgado in the Cray-Hawks. In the 1978 film ''National Lampoon's Animal House'', Cray was the uncredited bassist in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Rocker
Lee Rocker (born Leon Drucker, August 3, 1961) is an American musician. He is a member of the rockabilly revival band Stray Cats. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker, the late former principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and Naomi Drucker. As a child, he played the cello and later learned bass guitar. Biography Personal life Lee Rocker was born Leon Drucker in Massapequa, Long Island, New York, in 1961. He is the son of classical clarinetists Stanley and Naomi Drucker. Stanley Drucker was the principal clarinetist for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and played with Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland. His sister Roseanne is a country music singer-songwriter. At age 12, Rocker picked up the electric bass but quickly developed a preference for playing the double bass as his instrument of choice. He credits records by Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins for his new inclination "The slap bass on those records blew me away!" Roc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
JJ Grey & MOFRO
JJ Grey & Mofro (formerly Mofro) is an American Southern soul- rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. History Early career The early days of Mofro can be traced back to the mid-nineties when John Higginbotham aka "JJ Grey" and Daryl Hance signed with a United Kingdom label and played shows in Europe as Mofro Magic. Grey and Hance met in their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida while working for an air conditioning company and developed a friendship through music. Their first band together was a rock band called Faith Nation followed by a funk band called Alma Zuma. The deal with the record label in London fell through, and Grey and Hance returned to their native Jacksonville and formed Mofro, then signed with Fog City Records in 2001. The name "Mofro" was coined by JJ Grey as an explanation of the sound that the band made. Grey says the word was originally a nickname that a co-worker gave him and Grey adopted it as the band name because it "sounded southern." Grey later changed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Lindell
Eric Lindell (born 1969, Northern California, United States) is an American singer-songwriter. His recording career began in 1996 as a regional Sonoma County-based artist. Since 2006, when he was picked up by Alligator Records, he has toured nationally and internationally. He recorded three albums for Alligator and has since issued several CDs on smaller indie labels. Background Lindell grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began playing in bands at the age of 15. Among his early musical influences were Fishbone and Black Flag. Lindell started playing in Northern California bars and clubs, first on guitar, and later moving to bass, while working as a baker during the day to make ends meet. After a few years, he moved to New York City briefly, and then relocated to New Orleans in 1999. In New Orleans, he recorded with Harold Ray Brown (formerly of War) as well as members of Galactic, including Galactic's Stanton Moore and Ivan Neville (with whom he now occasionally plays in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roomful Of Blues
Roomful of Blues is an American blues and swing revival big band based in Rhode Island. With a recording career that spans over 50 years, they have toured worldwide and recorded many albums. Roomful of Blues, according to the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', "Swagger, sway and swing with energy and precision".Wisser, Jeff. ''Chicago Sun-Times'', March 23, 2003 Since 1967, the group’s blend of swing, rock and roll, jump blues, boogie-woogie and soul has earned it five Grammy Award nominations and many other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards (with a victory as Blues Band Of The Year in 2005). '' Billboard'' called the band "a tour de force of horn-fried blues…Roomful is so tight and so right."Van Vleck, Phillip. ''Billboard'' January 22, 2005 The '' Down Beat'' International Critics Poll has twice selected Roomful of Blues as Best Blues Band. Roomful of Blues is currently an eight-piece unit led by guitarist Chris Vachon and featuring long-time tenor and alto sax play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smokin' Joe Kubek
Smokin' Joe Kubek (November 30, 1956 – October 11, 2015) was an American Texas blues electric guitarist, songwriter and performer. Biography Born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, Kubek grew up in the Dallas, Texas area. In the 1970s during his teen years, he played with the likes of Freddie King and in the 1980s began performing with Louisiana-born musician and vocalist, Bnois King. In 1985, Kubek released his first record on Bird Records, a 45 RPM single with the tracks "Driving Sideways" (written by Freddie King and Sonny Thompson) and "Other Side of Love" (written by Doyle Bramhall Sr.). The single's executive producers were Clint Birdwell and Charley Wirz. The two tracks reappeared on Kubek's 2012 album, ''Let That Right Hand Go'', produced by Birdwell and issued on Birdwell's label, Bird Records Texas. The album is a collection of mostly unreleased material recorded since the 1980s (with the 1985 single's track, "Other Side of Love", entitled "The Other Side of Love"). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Lay
Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a blues and R&B musician alongside Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Life and career Samuel Julian Lay was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 20, 1935. He began his career in 1957, as the drummer for the Original Thunderbirds. He soon after became the drummer for the harmonica player Little Walter. In 1960, he became the regular drummer for Muddy Waters, and remained in Waters's band until 1966. In that time he also began recording and performing with prominent blues musicians, including Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Eddie Taylor, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells, Bo Diddley, Magic Sam, Jimmy Rogers, and Earl Hooker. The recordings Lay made during this time, along with Waters's album '' Fathers and Sons'', recorded in 1969, are considered to be among the definiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddy Clearwater
Edward Harrington (January 10, 1935 – June 1, 2018), better known by his stage name Eddy Clearwater, was an American blues musician who specialized in Chicago blues. ''Blues Revue'' said he plays "joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. One of the blues' finest songwriters." Early life Edward Harrington was born in Macon, Mississippi, on January 10, 1935. He was raised by his part-Cherokee grandmother in Mississippi. His family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1948. He was a cousin of the blues harmonica player Carey Bell. He began playing guitar at age 13, teaching himself left-handed and upside down. He began performing with gospel groups, including the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. He moved to Chicago in 1950, playing predominantly gospel, and later developed his blues artistry after working with Magic Sam, Otis Rush, and others. Career Clearwater is best known for his activity in the Chicago blues scene since the 1950s. He performed i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lil' Ed Williams
Lil' Ed Williams (born April 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois) is an American blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter. With his backing band, the Blues Imperials, he has built up a loyal following. Biography In childhood, Williams and his half-brother James "Pookie" Young received encouragement and tutelage from their uncle, the blues guitarist, songwriter and recording artist J. B. Hutto, who introduced them to his student Dave Weld. Together with Dave Weld, (rhythm guitar and vocals) formed the first version of the Blues Imperials. Since 1989, the band's lineup has been Williams (lead guitar and vocals), Michael Garrett (rhythm guitar and vocals), James Young (bass) and Kelly Littleton (drums). ''Living Blues'' magazine described the band as "Rough-and-ready South and West Side blues...Ed's swirling, snarling slide guitar work can be riveting, and The Imperials pound out blues-rock riffs and rhythms behind him as if they're overdosing on boogie juice." ''Guitar Player'' ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lonnie Brooks
Lonnie Brooks (born Lee Baker Jr., December 18, 1933 – April 1, 2017) was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in ''Rolling Stone'', stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, brimming with novel harmonic turnarounds, committed vocals and simply astonishing guitar work."Palmer, Robert. ''Rolling Stone'', May 31, 1979. Jon Pareles, a music critic for the ''New York Times'', wrote, "He sings in a rowdy baritone, sliding and rasping in songs that celebrate lust, fulfilled and unfulfilled; his guitar solos are pointed and unhurried, with a tone that slices cleanly across the beat. Wearing a cowboy hat, he looks like the embodiment of a good-time bluesman."Pareles, Jon. ''New York Times'', March 16, 1992. Howard Reich, a music critic for the ''Chicago Tribune'', wrote, "...the music that thundered from Brooks' instrument and voice...shook the room. His sound was so huge and delivery so ferocious as to make everything ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcia Ball
Marcia Ball (born March 20, 1949, Orange, Texas, United States) is an American blues singer and pianist raised in Vinton, Louisiana. Ball was described in ''USA Today'' as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist... where Texas stomp-rock and Louisiana blues-swamp meet."Gundersen, EdnaUSA Today February 5, 2006. The ''Boston Globe'' described her music as "an irresistible celebratory blend of rollicking, two-fisted New Orleans piano, Louisiana swamp rock and smoldering Texas blues from a contemporary storyteller." Career Ball was born into a musical family. Her grandmother and aunt both played piano music of their time and Ball started piano lessons when she started school, and showed an early interest in New Orleans style piano playing, as exemplified by Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, and James Booker. She has named Irma Thomas, the New Orleans vocalist, as her chief vocal inspiration. Ball studied English at Louisiana State University in the 1960s while playing in a ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
