Max Voorhees Drake II (born June 1, 1952) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

guitarist and songwriter from Yanceyville, North Carolina. He has performed with musicians such as B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Lightnin' Hopkins, 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' ...

Biography

Early life and career

Max Drake was born in

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

and grew up in Reidsville. He started his first band at age 23 in 1975. From the mid-1970s until 1989 he gained distinction as a guitarist in Arhooly R&B Deluxe Band. While in Arhooly, there were performances with prominent bluesmen including B.B. King, Bo Diddley, and Robert Cray. Drake became especially known for his agility on

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

. In the 1990s, Drake performed with the Charlotte-based Extraordinaires and also Thomas "Mookie" Brill before recording and performing frequently with Skeeter Brandon. In the 2000s, he played rhythm guitar in Big Bill Morganfield's band, going on worldwide tours. Morganfield is the son of Muddy Waters (aka McKinley Morganfield) often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." As the band toured Europe, blues enthusiasts became increasingly interested in Morganfield. Many were familiar with his father's seminal contributions to electric blues from his work on

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

. It was said that the band's version of Waters' " Got My Mojo Working" stood up to the original. Tours in Spain that Drake accompanied him on particularly enjoyed popularity due to the legacy connection to Waters. After the multiyear run with Morganfield ended, Drake stayed closer to his home and family in Caswell County, North Carolina. He went on to work extensively with Mel Melton & The Wicked Mojos in the 2010s while teaching aspiring blues artists. Drake has performed at public schools in North Carolina in partnership with the Greensboro-based Piedmont Blues Preservation Society.

Discography

*''Got it Bad'' (1995) *''New Moon Blues on Rise'' (1996) *''Global Voices: Traditional, Sacred & Contemporary Vocal Music'' (1998) *''Contemporary Global Voices'' (2000) *''Popskull & High Art'' (2008)

References

External links

Skeeter Brandon: "The Sky is Crying" (Max Drake, guitar)

Extraordinaires: "Dark End of the Street" (Max Drake on lead guitar)

All Music – Max Drake
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Max 1952 births American blues guitarists American male guitarists People from Burlington, North Carolina People from Reidsville, North Carolina People from Yanceyville, North Carolina Guitarists from North Carolina 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians Living people