The Nighthawks are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

and roots music band, based in Washington, D.C. As of 2018, The Nighthawks are Mark Wenner (vocals and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

), Dan Hovey ( lead guitar), Paul Pisciotta ( bass guitar), and Mark Stutso (

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

History

Formed in 1972, the Nighthawks underwent several personnel changes before stabilizing as the lineup of Mark Wenner (vocals and harmonica), Jimmy Thackery (lead guitar), Jan Zukowski (bass guitar), and Pete Ragusa (drums). Their 1979 album, ''Full House,'' issued on

Adelphi Records Adelphi Records is an American independent record label founded in 1968 and incorporated in 1970 by Gene Rosenthal. History The label name was crafted by Rosenthal to suggest a combination of the Pythia, Greek oracle, nearby Adelphi, Maryland, as ...

, includes guest appearances from Pinetop Perkins and Bob Margolin.

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player Gregg Wetzel joined the band in 1983, was a full-time member until 1986, and has continued to play at special performances. The membership of the band remained stable until 1986. At that time, tired of the band's extensive touring schedule, Thackery departed to join 'The Assassins' (a part-time "vacation band" he helped found), eventually fronting 'The Drivers' and other groups and to

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

for Blind Pig Records, and Telarc Records. Following his departure, several players filled the lead guitar spot. These included Jimmy Nalls, Warren Haynes, James Solberg, Danny Morris, Pete Kanaras, with Kanaras becoming the longest lasting member. Also in 1987 and 1988 the band became the Rosebud Agency's East Coast house band, backing tours with

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 ...

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 ...

, John Hammond, and Pinetop Perkins. In 2003, the band featured in the first episode of the second season of '' The Wire''. Kanaras and Zukowski departed the band in 2004. They were replaced by Paul Bell (lead guitar) and Johnny Castle (bass guitar). The Nighthawks won the Traditional Blues/R&B Duo/Group Award at the 2009 Washington Area Music Awards. In 2011, their album, ''Last Train to Bluesville'' won the Acoustic Album of the Year at the 32nd

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, " ...

s, sponsored by the Blues Foundation. In 2011, they signed with Severn Records. Then the band released a number of albums on Richmond's EllerSoul label including a Reverend Billy C. Wirtz release. In 2018 Johnny Castle and Paul Bell left the band to be replaced by Paul Pisciotta on bass and Dan Hovey on guitar. They recorded ''Tryin To Get To You'' at Severn Studio in Annapolis, MD with David Earl co-producing and engineering in 2019 and released it on EllerSoul, spring 2020 in time for national lockdown. They are currently back in Severn working on new product including four Dan Hovey originals and two Mark Stutso originals. Tentative title is ''49/50'' since the band will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022.

Discography

Other releases featuring the Nighthawks

* ''Hot Tracks'' – John Hammond and the Nighthawks (1979, Vanguard) * ''Bad Boy "Live"'' – Oki and the Nighthawks (1984) * ''Your Name Here'' – The Nighthawks Minus Mark (2014, Ellersoul) * ''Full Circle'' – Rev. Billy C. Wirtz and the Nighthawks (2016, EllerSoul) * ''Flying High'' – Gabe Stillman and the Nighthawks (2020)

Mark Wenner solo albums

* ''Fugitive'' – with "Switchblade" (1984, Whitewall) * ''Nothin' But...'' – with "The Bel Airs" (1989, Powerhouse) * ''Runs Good, Needs Paint'' (2000, Right On Rhythm) * ''Mama Tried'' – with "The Bel Airs" (2002, Right On Rhythm) * ''Mark Wenner's Blues Warriors'' (2018, EllerSoul)

References

External links