Tommy Castro (born April 15, 1955, San Jose, California, United States) 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 ...

, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008

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, " ...

for Entertainer of the Year. According to ''

The Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', Castro plays "Memphis soul-drenched R&B…top-of-the-line blues."Johnson, Jeff. ''

The Chicago Sun Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide v ...

'', August 9, 2009 Tom Callahan of ''Blurt'' added, "Castro has a soulful voice, searing guitar and is an excellent songwriter and vocalist. If you close your eyes you will be convinced that you are listening to Otis Redding singing in 1967…tremendous."Callahan, Tom. Blurt Online
Review of ''Hard Believer''
, August 17, 2009

Biography

Castro began playing guitar at the age of 10 and was influenced and inspired by

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

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 ...

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 ...

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

, 1960s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

. His style has always been a hybrid of all his favorite genres. He names Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

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, shi ...

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

and

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...

as guitar influences and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

and

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

as vocal influences. He began playing professionally in

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

cover-song bands in the 1970s. In the 1980s he joined the

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

' band The Dynatones. In

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, he began playing with North Beach musicians in the 1980s. He cited Johnny Nitro and Johnny Ace as early mentors at that stage in his life. Since 1991, he has led his own bands, featuring a drummer, a bass guitar player, and a saxophone player (Keith Crossan has held the saxophone position for many years). As of 2009, he had added trumpeter Tom Poole and keyboards to the band. He was signed to

Blind Pig Records Blind Pig Records is an American blues independent record label. Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco. I ...

label and released ''Exception to the Rule'' in late 1996. It won the 1997 Bay Area Music Award for Outstanding Blues Album, and Castro also took the award for Outstanding Blues Musician that same year. Castro was also an early adopter of the internet's new graphical web browsers to promote his music. He established his web presence in September 1995, and registered his first domain name in December 1996. In the mid-1990s The Tommy Castro Band served as the house band for three seasons on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Television's ''Comedy Showcase'' (airing right after ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''), bringing him in front of millions of viewers every week. In 2001 and 2002,

asked Castro to open his summer concert tours. Castro received an open invitation to join King on stage for the nightly finale. Castro has released albums on the

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long associ ...

, 33rd Street and Heart And Soul and most recently on the

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

label, as well as on

Blind Pig A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

. His album ''Guilty of Love'' featured the last recording session for

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

. In 2002 he was featured on the

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

tribute album ''Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!'', performing the song "I Can Tell". In 2007 the readers of ''BluesWax'' (online magazine) voted ''Painkiller'' as BluesWax album of the year. It also won the 2008

for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year. In 2009, Castro joined the roster of Chicago's

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 ...

with his release ''Hard Believer'', produced by

John Porter John Porter may refer to: Politicians * John Porter (portreeve), 1390–94, Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton * John Porter (Illinois politician) (1935–2022), Illinois politician, U.S. Representative * John Porter (MP for Bramber) (died 1599 ...

. The album was described by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' as "irresistibly funky…it has a street-level grit and a soulful sincerity that's impossible to ignore."Mills, Fred.

Review of ''Hard Believer''
August 11, 2009 ''Blues Revue'' said Hard Believer is "a fine set of roadhouse-rockin' blues.".Nager, Larry. ''Blues Revue'', October 2009 Blurt says, "Hard Believer might just be the best yet from this veteran Bay Area blues artist." In May 2010, The

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...

awarded Castro multiple

honors for Blues Male Artist of the Year, Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, and with his band, Band of the Year. In 2011, Castro stripped down his band to a four-piece unit called the Painkillers with bassist Randy McDonald from the original Tommy Castro Band, keyboardist James Pace and original Painkillers drummer Byron Cage. 2013's ''The Devil You Know'', was recorded with this line-up plus guest appearances by

Marcia Ball Marcia Ball (born March 20, 1949, Orange, Texas, United States) is an American blues singer and pianist raised in Vinton, Louisiana. Ball was described in ''USA Today'' as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist... where Texas stomp-rock a ...

Tab Benoit Tab Benoit (born November 17, 1967) is an American blues guitarist, musician, and singer. His playing combines a number of blues styles, primarily Delta blues. He plays a stock 1972 Fender Telecaster Thinline electric guitar and writes his own ...

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 inde ...

The Holmes Brothers The Holmes Brothers were an American musical trio originally from Christchurch, Virginia. Mixing sounds from blues, soul, gospel, country, and rhythm & blues, they have released twelve studio albums, with three reaching the top 5 on the ''Billb ...

, and

Magic Dick Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. The album was reviewed by Allmusic.com, saying "Castro brings fiery garage energy to everything. His guitar playing is fired up and roaring with a renewed sharpness that keeps the pot boiling. His voice is a soulful and versatile blue-collar growl. This album is full of the blues, but it's also like a full-charged blue-eyed R&B and soul review, making this one of Castro's finest releases." In 2015, recording with long-standing bassist Randy McDonald, keyboard player Mike Emerson ( Elvin Bishop,

Carlene Carter Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. As of 2020, since 1978, Carter has recorded 12 album ...

, James Armstrong, Petty Theft), and drummer Bowen Brown he released, ''Method To My Madness'', which debuted at number four in the ''Billboard'' Blues Albums Chart. On September 29, 2017, he released ''Stompin' Ground'' (

) again with Painkillers' bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Mike Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown. As on his previous albums, Castro had several guests including

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 ...

(harp and vocals on "Live Every Day"),

Mike Zito Mike Zito (born November 19, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooto ...

(guitar and vocals on "Rock Bottom"),

Danielle Nicole Danielle Nicole (born Danielle Nicole Schnebelen) is an American blues/soul musician from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Her self-titled solo debut EP was released March 10, 2015 on Concord Records. The self-titled EP features Grammy Awar ...

(vocals on "Soul Shake"), and

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

’

David Hidalgo David Kent Hidalgo (born October 6, 1954, in Los Angeles.) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. Hidalgo frequently plays musical instruments such as accordion, violin, 6-string banjo, cello, requin ...

(guitar and vocals on "Them Changes").

Discography

*1994: ''No Foolin' '' ive(Saloon) *1995: ''Exception to the Rule'' (

) *1997: ''Can't Keep a Good Man Down'' (Blind Pig) *1999: ''Right as Rain'' (Blind Pig) *2000: ''Live at the Fillmore'' (Blind Pig) *2001: ''The Essential Tommy Castro'' (Blind Pig) *2001: ''Guilty of Love'' ( 33rd Street) *2001: ''Mystic Theater Live'' (promotional 4-song EP) (33rd Street) *2003: ''Gratitude'' (Heart & Soul; now on Oarfin) *2003: ''Triple Trouble'' with

Jimmy Hall Jimmy Hall (born April 26, 1949) is the American lead singer and harmonica player for the Southern rock group, Wet Willie. Hall was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and reared in Mobile, Alabama. He first gained notoriety in 1970 as the lead vocal ...

& Lloyd Jones (

) *2005: ''Soul Shaker'' (Blind Pig) *2007: ''Painkiller'' (Blind Pig) *2008: ''Command Performance: Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue'' ( Delta Groove) *2009: ''Hard Believer'' (

) *2011: ''Tommy Castro Presents The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue - Live!'' (Alligator) *2012: "Greedy"/"That's All I Got" (7" single) (Alligator) *2014: ''The Devil You Know'' (Alligator) *2015: ''Method To My Madness'' (Alligator) *2017: ''Stompin' Ground'' (Alligator) *2019: ''Killin' It Live'' (Alligator) *2021: ''Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town'' (Alligator)

References

External links

Tommy Castro Band website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Tommy 1955 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Musicians from San Jose, California Soul-blues musicians Contemporary blues musicians Guitarists from California 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Alligator Records artists Blind Pig Records artists Telarc Records artists