Michael Lewis Wheeler (born June 30, 1961) is a Chicago blues songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist. His first gig was with

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

' piano player,

Lovie Lee Lovie Lee (March 17, 1909 – May 23, 1997) Various birth years have been reported for Lee, including 1917 and 1923. was an American electric blues pianist and singer. He is best known for his work accompanying Muddy Waters. He also recorded a so ...

. He performed with numerous Chicago bands and well-known artists such as Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, and

Shemekia Copeland Charon Shemekia Copeland (born April 10, 1979) is an American electric blues vocalist. To date, she has released ten albums and been presented with seven Blues Music Awards. Career Copeland was born in Harlem, New York City, United States. She i ...

. He formed his own band, the Mike Wheeler Band, in 2001.His CD, ''Self Made Man'', was released by Delmark Records in 2012 with critical acclaim. He was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2014. He is a regular performer at the famed Chicago blues club,

Kingston Mines Kingston Mines is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 259 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on the Illinois River, it was a shipping port, loading co ...

Life and career

Wheeler (Michael Lewis Wheeler) was born in

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

on June 30, 1961. His music career spans more than 30 years. He played his first gig in 1984 with Muddy Waters' piano player, Lovie Lee, at Lilly's, a

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

bar in Chicago. His mother was his first musical influence by playing blues (such as Muddy Waters and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

), R&B, and soul records in their home. He recorded and played on numerous Chicago blues bands including Dave Cadillac and the Chicago Redhots, Sam Cockrell and the Grooves, Nellie Tiger Travis, Big Ray and Chicago's Most Wanted, Big James and The Chicago Playboys, and Peaches Staten and the Grooveshakers. He performed with well-known blues artists such as Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy, Shemekia Copeland, Jimmy Johnson,

Son Seals Frank "Son" Seals (August 13, 1942 – December 20, 2004) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. In 2009, Seals was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Career Seals was born in Osceola, Arkansas, where his father, Jim "Son" Sea ...

, and

Willie Kent Willie Kent (February 24, 1936 – March 2, 2006) was an American Chicago blues singer, bassist and songwriter. Career Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago's clubs since the ...

. He tours in Europe and he has played at the

Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the Chicago, Illinois, City of Chicago Department of Cu ...

. In 2014, he was inducted into the Chicago Blues Halls of Fame as a Master Blues Artist. He is a regular performer at the famed Chicago blues club, Kingston Mines. Wheeler formed his own band in 2001, the Mike Wheeler Band. The band has all of its original members. Bassist Larry Williams was a childhood friend of Wheeler. He has played to national and international audiences. He is known for his stage presence and charisma. Drummer Cleo Cole started playing drums at the age of 10, studied at the Music Conservatory of Chicago, and has performed before international audiences. Keyboardist Brian James has an associate degree in Fine Arts. He was the music director for numerous artists, including

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, br ...

Music and performance style

Reviewer Read noted that Wheeler has a recognizable sound that includes

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

while telling stories and maintaining a positive attitude and uplifting energy in his music. Critic Cummings-Yeates wrote, "Wheeler possesses the perfect blend of musicianship, storytelling, and singing skills."

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

critic Whiteis described Wheeler's guitar playing as a "typical Chicagoan blend of Texas-to-Memphis panache and back-alley aggression." Blues critic Al Hensley found that Wheeler's "red-hot" guitar style is "reminiscent" of

Carl Weathersby Carl Weathersby (born Carlton Weathersby; 24 February 1953, in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American electric blues vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He has worked with Albert King and Billy Branch, among others. He is now a solo artist. He was ...

, Jimmy Johnson and Eddie Hazel. Hensley stated of the 12 songs that Wheeler wrote on the CD, ''Self Made Man'', that he has "extraordinary talent as a songwriter".

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Mike 1961 births Living people African-American guitarists African-American male singer-songwriters American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Contemporary blues musicians Electric blues musicians Chicago blues musicians Lead guitarists Delmark Records artists Singer-songwriters from Illinois Guitarists from Illinois 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers