Ronnie Baker Brooks (born January 23, 1967) is an American

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

and

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by ar ...

guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a respected club performer in Chicago, even before recording three solo albums for Watchdog Records. The son of fellow Chicago blues musician

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, b ...

, he is the brother of another blues guitarist,

Wayne Baker Brooks Wayne Baker Brooks (born April 30, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American blues and blues-rock guitarist and singer. Biography The son of the Chicago blues musician Lonnie Brooks, he joined his father's band playing guitar in the band i ...

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 ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, Andy Whitman, described Brooks as "... a better than average soul singer, a fine blues interpreter, and a monster guitarist with an ample supply of technique and passion."

Life and career

He was born Rodney Dion Baker 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 ...

, United States. At the age of nine, he first appeared on stage playing guitar alongside his father. In 1985, he graduated from

Hales Franciscan High School Hales Franciscan High School (known simply as Hales) was a private Catholic high school located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. It was part of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Background Since its founding, Hal ...

. He learned to play

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and joined his father's band in 1986. He played guitar on his father's

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Live from Chicago: Bayou Lightning Strikes'', released by

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the ''Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using hi ...

in 1988. He was then part of Alligator Records' 20th Anniversary Tour, performing alongside

Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known for ...

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a membe ...

, and

Lil' Ed Williams Lil' Ed Williams (born April 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois) is an American blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter. With his backing band, the Blues Imperials, he has built up a loyal following. Biography In childhood, Williams and his half-b ...

. By 1998, Brooks was pursuing a solo career. His debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Golddigger'', was released the same year by the Watchdog

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

. It was produced by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

. He was nominated for 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 2000 for Best New Artist. His second album, ''Take Me Witcha'', was released in May 2001. Brooks next album was ''The Torch'' (2006). The ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' described it as "ferocious and unrelenting, ''The Torch'' may be the year's best blues album." The album included contributions from Lonnie Brooks,

Eddy Clearwater Edward Harrington (January 10, 1935 – June 1, 2018), better known by his stage name Eddy Clearwater, was an American blues musician who specialized in Chicago blues. ''Blues Revue'' said he plays "joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning ...

, Jimmy Johnson,

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 ...

, and

Al Kapone Alphonzo Bailey (born November 5, 1975), better known by his stage name Al Kapone, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. Al Kapone is known principally for his underground success in the Memphis hip hop scene in the 1990s, and his l ...

and was produced by

Jellybean Johnson Garry George "Jellybean" Johnson (born November 19, 1956) is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and musician based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. A member and drummer of The Time who worked along with famed producers Jimmy Ja ...

. From 2007 to 2010, Brooks toured with band members Carlton Armstrong, C.J. Anthony Tucker, and Steve Nixon, to support ''The Torch''. On occasions when his younger brother, Wayne Baker Brooks, joined him and his father on stage, they were billed as the Brooks Family Band. Brooks played 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 not ...

in 2007 and at

Memphis in May Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Festival'' ...

and the

Musikfest ''Musikfest'' is an American music festival that has been held annually since 1984 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the nation's largest non-gated free music festival. The festival begins on ...

in 2009. In August 2010, he co-wrote three tracks with

Chris Beard Christopher Michael Beard (born February 18, 1973) is an American basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at the University of Texas at Austin for the men's team. He previously coached at Texas Tech, Little Rock, Angelo State, and ...

for the latter's ''Who I Am and What I Do'', released by Electro Glide Records. In 2012, the blues journalist David Brais declared Brooks "blues royalty", stating that "his particular style of Chicago blues has been performed on stages around the world. It honors the true torch bearers of this unique sound which includes Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Luther Allison and his father." ''Times Have Changed'' is Brooks most recent album, and was released in January 2017. Brooks lives in

Dolton, Illinois Dolton (pronounced "DAWL-ton") is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,426 at the 2020 census. Dolton is located just west of the expressway Interstate 94 and immediately south of the city limits of Chicago. Its ...

, and is a regular at Artis's Lounge on Chicago's South Side.

Discography

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Ronnie Baker 1967 births Living people American blues singers American male singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Chicago blues musicians Electric blues musicians Soul-blues musicians Songwriters from Illinois Singers from Chicago Blues musicians from Illinois People from Dolton, Illinois Guitarists from Chicago 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters Provogue Records artists

Life and career

Discography

See also

References

External links