John Allen "Al" Gamble (born March 11, 1969) is an American,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

and

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

based,

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, playing Hammond B-3 organ and keyboards. He is currently the keyboard player for St. Paul and The Broken Bones.

Early life

Gamble was born in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, United States, but his family moved to his parents' home town of Tuscumbia,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

(near

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...

), where he was raised. After graduating from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in 1991 he lived in Tuscumbia, until moving to Memphis in 1994 to pursue a career in music.

Career

Gamble grew up listening to his father's record collection, which included Jimmy Smith,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...

and other jazz and soul artists on the

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

and

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

labels. He played in various bands during high school and college, and in 1992 joined the

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

-based Bluebirds, featuring Buddy Flett on guitar. Gamble spent a few years in Memphis as a

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, th ...

musician, backing such artists as Preston Shannon and A-440. In 2001, he formed the Gamble Brothers Band with his younger brother Chad Gamble (drums), Art Edmaiston (saxophone) and Will Lowrimore (bass). The band recorded three albums from 2001 to 2007. The first album, ''10 Lbs. of Hum'' (2001), was released independently and featured Lowrimore on bass. The last two albums, ''Back to the Bottom'' (2003) and ''Continuator'' (2006), were released on the Memphis-based label Archer Records. ''Back to the Bottom'' was the last recording to feature Lowrimore on bass, who left the band shortly after the album's release. ''Continuator'' featured bassist, Blake Rhea, who joined the band in 2003 to replace Lowrimore. In 2003, the Gamble Brothers Band beat out more than 1,200 other artists to win the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

-sponsored Independent Music World Series award. Edmaiston joined the

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

-based touring band

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 signe ...

in 2007, and soon after that, the Gamble Brothers Band played a show opening for the

Black Crowes Black is a color which results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or fi ...

in October 2007 at Mud Island Amphitheatre in Memphis, their final live performance for 12 years. The band reunited for a show at the Crosstown Theater in Memphis on December 21, 2019. Earlier in 2007, while Edmaiston was on a break from touring, he joined Gamble, Memphis guitar player Joe Restivo, and drummer

George Sluppick George Peter Sluppick (born January 14, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. to George Thomas Scott Sluppick and Rosa Lee Deckard) is an American touring and session drummer, best known for his association with bands such as The City Champs, Robert Walte ...

to form The Grip, a four-piece jazz instrumental band specializing in

boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and Latinos ...

music. The Grip recorded the EP ''Grab This Thing'' for Archer Records (2007). The road took Edmaiston away again, and Gamble continued to play with Restivo and Sluppick as a three-piece, forming the band The City Champs. The City Champs released two albums on

Scott Bomar Scott Bomar (born June 15, 1974) is a Memphis-based musician, Emmy Award-winning film composer, Grammy-nominated music producer, and recording engineer. Scott Bomar's songs are represented by Downtown Music Publishing. Early years A native of M ...

's Electraphonic label: ''The Safecracker'' (2009) and ''The Set Up'' (2010). The City Champs have toured regularly and opened for other acts, including the

North Mississippi Allstars North Mississippi Allstars is an American blues and southern rock band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is currently composed of brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, lowebow, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards, elect ...

and

Huey Lewis Hugh Anthony Cregg III (born July 5, 1950), known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many o ...

. The members' other musical projects took them in different directions, but after a long hiatus they reunited to create the critically acclaimed ''Luna '68'', released in 2021 on Big Legal Mess Records. The City Champs' music has been featured in the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

series "$5 Cover" and in the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-winning documentary film ''I Am A Man: From Memphis, A Lesson in Life.'' On November 29, 2010, The City Champs took part in the filming of a new Memphis music documentary. Titled ''Take Me To The River'', this Cody Dickinson/Martin Shore-produced film, released Sept. 12, 2014, showcases icons of the Memphis' music scene playing with up-and-coming young bands. The City Champs collaborated with harmonica legend

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal f ...

and

Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or as ...

bassist

David Hood David Hood (born September 21, 1943) is an American bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also plays the trombone. He is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Early life and education Hood was born in Sheffield, Alabama and attende ...

on bass to film a segment at Electraphonic Studios in Memphis. The film, which includes contributions from Terrance Howard and Snoop Dogg, was honored at the Raindance Film Festival awards ceremony in London as the Feature Film. In January 2013, after learning about St. Paul and The Broken Bones from friend and guitarist Browan Lollar, Gamble was asked to add organ overdubs on the band's debut album ''Half The City'', recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Later that year, Gamble joined the band full-time, prior to the release of the record in February 2014. St. Paul and The Broken Bones have toured extensively in the United States and Europe and opened two shows (June 9 in Atlanta; and July 11 in Buffalo, New York) for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

on the band's 2015

Zip Code Tour Zip Code was a concert tour by English rock band the Rolling Stones. It began on 24 May 2015 in San Diego and travelled across North America before concluding on 15 July 2015 in Quebec City. The tour was announced on 31 March 2015 with tickets ...

. In January 2016, St. Paul and the Broken Bones played a sold-out Carnegie Hall show as part of a four-concert series curated by Rosanne Cash called Carnegie Hall's Perspectives. In February 2017, St. Paul and the Broken Bones headlined the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards viewing party in West Hollywood, California. Gamble has recorded on more than 50 albums and on various film scores. He is credited with writing or co-writing more than 40 songs, according to BMI. He has toured with The City Champs, singer/songwriter

Charlie Mars Charlie Mars is a vocalist, guitarist and singer-songwriter from Mississippi. Mars has performed at Austin City Limits and South by Southwest. Mars was featured in Esquire Magazine's Songwriting Challenge which he says was his brainchild. Bi ...

, John Paul Keith and the 145s, Louisiana soul singer

Marc Broussard Marc Broussard (born January 14, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter. His style is best described as "Bayou Soul", a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop, matched with distinct Southern roots. He has released eight studio albums, one liv ...

, Charles Walker and the Dynamites, The Bo-Keys, and St. Paul and The Broken Bones.

Personal life

Al Gamble currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Alabama Music Hall of Fame

Al Gamble and his brother Chad are listed as "Music Achievers" in the

Alabama Music Hall of Fame The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then saw to its Phase One construction of a facility after a statewide referendu ...

Discography

Television performances

*''

Lopez Tonight ''Lopez Tonight'' is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-night ...

'' - w/Marc Broussard - June 13, 2011 *'' CBS This Morning: Saturday'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - March 28, 2014 *''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...

'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - April 28, 2014 *''

Jimmy Kimmel Live ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's lead ...

'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - June 23, 2014 *'' ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2014'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - November 22, 2014 *''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - January 12, 2015 *''

Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...

'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - August 30, 2016 *'' CBS This Morning: Saturday'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Sept. 10, 2016 *'' CONAN on TBS'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Sept. 19, 2016 *''

Later with Jools Holland ''Later... with Jools Holland'' (also known as ''Even Later... with Jools Holland'', and previously known as ''Later Live... with Jools Holland'' and ''...Later with Jools Holland'') is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jo ...

'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Oct. 21, 2016 *'' Bluegrass Underground'', Season 6, Episode 11 - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Nov. 16, 2016 *'' MTV Live'' Setlist, Season 1, Episode 4 - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Jan. 7, 2017 *''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

'', Season 42, Episode 12 - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - July 15, 2017 *''

'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Sept. 10, 2018 *'' CBS This Morning: Saturday'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Oct. 13, 2018 *''

'', Season 4, Episode 68 - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Dec. 18, 2018 *''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...

'', Episode 801 - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Feb. 18, 2019 *'' CBS This Morning: Saturday'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Jan. 4, 2020 *''

'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Jan. 27, 2022 *'' CBS This Morning: Saturday'' - w/St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Jan. 29, 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamble, Al Living people 1969 births Musicians from Columbus, Georgia Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee University of Alabama alumni People from Tuscumbia, Alabama Musicians from Alabama