Kirk Fletcher (born December 23, 1975) is an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930 ...

guitarist, singer, and songwriter. To date, Fletcher has released four studio albums and one live album. In addition, he has variously been a member of

the Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974. Career After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...

and

the Mannish Boys The Mannish Boys are an American blues band based in Los Angeles. They play classic blues in West Coast, Texas and Chicago styles. Founded by bandleader Randy Chortkoff, the band is named after the song "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. Led by v ...

, plus supplied backing for

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his ind ...

and Eros Ramazzotti. Fletcher has been nominated for four Blues Music Awards and was a 2015

British Blues Awards The British Blues Awards were inaugurated in 2010. The prize was awarded in various categories, such as 'Male vocals', 'Female vocals', 'Guitarist', 'Bass player' and 'Keyboard player', 'Blues band', 'Young artist', 'Blues album', 'Blues festival' a ...

nominee. His latest album, ''Hold On'', was released in October 2018. It reached number 12 in the ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' radio chart, and entered at number 15 in the US '' Billboard'' Blues Albums chart. It was nominated in 2019 for a Blues Music Award in the 'Contemporary Blues Album' category.

Biography

Kirk Fletcher was born in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...

, United States. He was the younger son of a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

minister, and gained enough confidence from watching his elder sibling, Walter, perform at their father's church, that Kirk learned to play rudimentary guitar by the age of eight. Fletcher was a member of a jazz band during high school, and later played with his friends on road trips in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. In Los Angeles he met

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Sprin ...

's guitar technician, Jeff Rivera, in a small music shop, and was impressed with Ford's expertise on guitar. Later through spending time with Al Blake, who was the lead singer and harmonica player for the

Hollywood Fats Michael Leonard Mann (March 17, 1954 – December 8, 1986),Liner notes from Al Blake's album ''Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir'' by Eric LeBlanc known as Hollywood Fats, was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California. Biogr ...

Band, helped establish connections with other

West Coast blues West Coast blues is a type of blues music influenced by jazz and jump blues, with strong piano-dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated from Texas blues players who relocated to California in the 1940s. West Coast blues also ...

musicians such as

Junior Watson Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer. Career Watson is a West Coast blues guitarist. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. ...

and Lynwood Slim. Fletcher became adept enough on the guitar to perform himself at gigs, and he recorded his debut album ''I'm Here & I'm Gone'' (1999) for

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

. Blake introduced Fletcher to

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top 40 ...

, which led to Fletcher playing guitar in Kim Wilson's Blues Revue. Touring duties followed and then Fletcher played on Wilson's

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-nominated live album, ''Smokin' Joint'' (2001). Shortly afterwards, Fletcher was invited to collaborate with

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 ...

. Fletcher stated "This is where I really developed my own sound and Charlie was cool with me being me." In 2003, Fletcher's second album, ''Shades of Blue'' was released by CrossCut Records and then on

Delta Groove Productions Delta Groove Productions is an American blues record label in Van Nuys, California, United States. The label was founded by Randy Chortkoff ( Rand Jay Chortkoff; 1949–2015), a producer, concert promoter, and harmonica player. Chortkoff's bi ...

the following year. Guests on the recording included the singers Kim Wilson, Janiva Magness and

Finis Tasby Finis Tasby (February 1, 1939 – November 2, 2014) was a Los Angeles based blues singer and frontman for the group The Mannish Boys. Background and career There is some confusion over his birth details, depending on which source is referenced. ...

. An opening appeared to join the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Fletcher played in the band from 2005 until 2008. The opportunities that unfolded led Fletcher into a brief stint with

Doyle Bramhall Doyle Bramhall (February 17, 1949 – November 12, 2011) was an American blues singer, guitarist and drummer with deep roots in the Austin, Texas music scene. Career Bramhall joined The Chessmen with Jimmie Vaughan while in high school. ...

and a few guest appearances playing alongside

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

and

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums: '' The Spirit Room'' and '' Hotel Paper.'' She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop C ...

. Fletcher played on the Fabulous Thunderbirds 2005 album, '' Painted On''. In 2006, Fletcher appeared with Nick Curran at the

Notodden Blues Festival Notodden Blues Festival (NBF) is one of the largest blues music festivals in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. The festival is held in Notodden, Norway, usually in early August. It has been running annually since 1988. The festival does no ...

. In 2009, a tenth anniversary reissue of ''I'm Here & I'm Gone'' came out with bonus tracks. The same year, Fletcher and his band performed at Dark Season Blues in Norway. ''My Turn'' (2010) was Fletcher's third album. It contained tracks penned by

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

Jesse Ed Davis Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, J ...

, Jimmy Johnson,

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

, Will Felder, and Travis Carlton. Fletcher also recorded three of his own compositions. With his guitar playing producer Michael Landau, plus the horns of saxophonist Paulie Cerra and trumpeter Paul Litterall, Fletcher tackled Reed's "I Found Love," plus Stone's "Let Me Have It All". The album also contained Kirk's first recorded vocal performance. From that point onward, Fletcher was able to front his own band on tours, and undertake some international tours, both as a member of

The Mannish Boys The Mannish Boys are an American blues band based in Los Angeles. They play classic blues in West Coast, Texas and Chicago styles. Founded by bandleader Randy Chortkoff, the band is named after the song "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. Led by v ...

and as lead guitarist for the Italian musician Eros Ramazzotti. In 2014, Fletcher self-released the live collection, ''Burning Blues (Live at the Baked Potato)''. '' Live at the Greek Theater'' (2016) was filmed and recorded during

's "Three Kings Tour" in 2015, which culminated at the

Greek Theatre Ancient Greek theatre was a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, was its centre, where the theatre was ...

in Los Angeles. The backing ensemble comprised Fletcher (rhythm guitar), Anton Fig (drums), Michael Rhodes (bass),

Reese Wynans Reese Wynans (born November 28, 1947) is an American keyboard player, who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond. In 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a m ...

(piano, Hammond organ), Lee Thornburg (trumpet, horn arrangements), Paulie Cerra (saxophone), Nick Lane (trombone), and backing singers

Mahalia Barnes Mahalia Violet Barnes (born 12 July 1982) is an Australian singer, songwriter and the daughter of Scottish-Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes and Jane Mahoney. She began performing as part of children's pop group The Tin Lids with siblings, ...

Jade MacRae Jade Aurora Moana MacRae (born 4 June 1979) is an Australian soul singer and the daughter of professional musicians Joy Yates and Dave MacRae. MacRae is best known for her top 40 singles MacRae " So Hot Right Now" and " Superstar", both release ...

, and Juanita Tippins. In 2018, Fletcher recorded a video with Josh Smith and Joe Bonamassa, performing the

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

track " Crosscut Saw". Fletcher's album, ''Hold On'', was released in October 2018. It reached number 12 in the ''Living Blues'' radio chart, and entered at number 15 in the ''Billboard'' Blues Albums chart. It was nominated in 2019 for a Blues Music Award in the 'Contemporary Blues Album' category.

Discography

Selected other recordings

*1999: ''The Henry Gray/Bob Corritore Sessions, Vol. 1: Blues Won't Let Me Take My Rest'' : Bob Corritore /

Henry Gray Henry Gray (1827 – 13 June 1861) was a British anatomist and surgeon most notable for publishing the book ''Gray's Anatomy''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the age of 25. Biography Gray was born in Belgrav ...

: Guitar *2000: ''World Wide Wood'' : Lynwood Slim : Guitar *2001: ''Smokin' Joint'' :

: Guitar *2003: ''Lonesome Moon Trance'' :

James Harman James Gary Harman (June 8, 1946 – May 23, 2021) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. The music journalist Tony Russell described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy blues harp player". Biogra ...

: Guitar *2004: ''That Represent Man'' :

: Guitar *2005: '' Painted On'' :

The Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American blues band formed in 1974. Career After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records and later signed with Epic Recor ...

: Guitars *2006: ''Last Call'' : Lynwood Slim : Guitar, Vocals (Background) *2007: ''Big Plans'' :

: Guitar *2009: ''Simple Things'' : Chantelle Barry : Guitar (Electric) *2010: ''Live on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise'' :

Joe Louis Walker Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW (born December 25, 1949) is an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his use of older material and playi ...

: Guitar, Featured Artist *2010: ''Shake for Me'' :

: Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) *2012: ''Longtime Friends in the Blues'' : Bob Corritore / Tail Dragger Jones : Guitar *2012: ''Double Dynamite'' :

: Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) *2012: ''Close to the Bone: Unplugged'' : Bnois King /

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 tee ...

: Guitar (Acoustic) *2013: ''Shiver and Sigh'' :

Kara Grainger Kara Grainger is an Australian soul blues and roots rock singer-songwriter, based out of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. She played with the Papa Lips band starting in 1994. In 1998, they were awarded the "Best New Band" award at the Austra ...

: Guitar (Rhythm) *2014: ''Wrapped Up and Ready'' :

: Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Soloist *2015: ''Bonetime'' :

: Guitar *2015: ''Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks'' :

: Guitar *2016: '' Live at the Greek Theater'' :

: Guitar (Rhythm) *2016: ''Hard Times, Bad Decisions'' : Lisa Mann : Featured Artist, Guitar *2016: ''Near Life Experience'' :

Scott Kinsey Scott Kinsey is a keyboardist and member of the band Tribal Tech. He is a 1991 graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Career In addition to playing in Tribal Tech with Scott Henderson and Gary Willis, Kinsey has worked with phil ...

: Guitar

References

External links

Official website''Billboard'' listingDiscogs discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Kirk 1975 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from California American blues singers Singers from California Electric blues musicians Songwriters from California People from Bellflower, California 21st-century American guitarists African-American guitarists African-American male songwriters 21st-century African-American male singers