Matt Hill (born June 17, 1985) is an American electric blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. To date, Hill has released two albums, and he has also gained a reputation for his energetic live performances. Hill won a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in May 2011, in the category of 'Best New Artist Debut' for his first album, ''On the Floor''.

Life and musical career

Hill was born in

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, Edgecombe and Nash County, North Carolina, Nash counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it ...

, United States. Originally inspired by his uncle's listening choice of

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

, Hill had learned to play the guitar by his mid-teens. He met the drummer Chuck Cotton at a local blues gig, and impressed by the fact that Cotton had played alongside

Bob Margolin Bob Margolin (born May 9, 1949) is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is Steady Rollin'. Biography Margolin started playing guitar in 1964, and his first appearance on record was with Boston psychedelic band The Freeborne, and the ...

, they jointly started a band, which ended up competing at the 2005

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, Alb ...

in Memphis, Tennessee. After playing in another couple of bands, Hill joined Margolin on tour, which saw Hill meet fellow blues musicians including

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s bef ...

Hubert Sumlin Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin ...

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Life ...

and

Nappy Brown Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp (October 12, 1929 – September 20, 2008) better known by his stage name Nappy Brown, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singing, singer. His hit record, hits include the 1955 ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard' ...

. Along with his playing experience, Hill slowly nurtured a raucous on-stage presence, partly inspired by

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

and Nappy Brown. Hill commented "I've been obsessed with Jerry Lee since I was a kid, and when I saw Nappy Brown crawlin' around, taking his clothes off, well I thought, this is for me!" Matt Hill's 2010 debut album was entitled ''On the Floor'', partly attributable to his stage antics. The collection, produced by Margolin and Dave Gross, contained eleven Hill originals amongst the 14 tracks.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted that "Why the F*ck (Do You Think I Cuss)," written by Margolin, had "Hill's screaming vocals and a thick twang-heavy bass solo make it the album's stand-out track". In May 2011, it garnered Hill the 'Best New Artist Debut' gong at the

s. Hill was later nominated in two categories at the Blues Blast Awards in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. In 2011, he married the singer Nikki Hill, and they relocated to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. His follow-up album, ''Tappin' That Thang'', was issued on May 29, 2012. Months after the release of ''Tappin' That Thang'', Hill began playing alongside his wife and singer Nikki Hill. In October 2014, Matt Hill and the Deep Fryed Two's last performance was at the Daytona Blues Festival. In October and November that same year, Hill toured Western Europe with his wife.

Discography

References

External links

Matt Hill and the Deep Fryed Two in concert in 2012 @ YouTube.comMargolin and Hill playing "Hoochie Coochie Man"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Matt 1985 births Living people American blues singers Electric blues musicians American blues guitarists American male guitarists Steel guitarists Songwriters from North Carolina People from Rocky Mount, North Carolina Guitarists from North Carolina 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American guitarists American male songwriters

Life and musical career

Discography

See also

References

External links