Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, United States) is an American blues and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

, currently residing in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. Along with

Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...

and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acoustic

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

blues in the mid-1990s. He was featured on the 2003

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, '' The Blues'', in an episode

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

Biography

Harris was born and raised near Denver, Colorado. He graduated from

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the Campus of Bates College, campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of th ...

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, the state's capital, and Portland, the state's most populous cit ...

with a bachelor's degree in 1991, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2007. Harris received a

Thomas J. Watson Fellowship The Thomas J. Watson Foundation is a charitable trust formed 1961 in honor of former chairman and CEO of IBM, Thomas J. Watson. The Foundation's stated vision is to empower students “to expand their vision, test and develop their potential, an ...

for language studies in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

in his early twenties, before taking a teaching post in

Napoleonville, Louisiana Napoleonville is a village and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 660 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village is best known as the loc ...

under the Teach For America program. His debut

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ' ...

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 ...

''Between Midnight and Day'' (1995) was produced by Grammy nominee/composer/producer Larry Hoffman, who discovered him in 1994 in

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the ...

. The record included covers of

Sleepy John Estes John Adam Estes (January 25, 1899 or 1900June 5, 1977),
known as Sleepy John Estes, was an Am ...

Fred McDowell Fred McDowell (January 12, 1904 – July 3, 1972), known by his stage name Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American hill country blues singer and guitar player. Career McDowell was born in Rossville, Tennessee, United States. His parents were ...

Charlie Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American musi ...

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 Chicag ...

, and

Booker White Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White (November 12, 1906 February 26, 1977) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. Biography White was born south of Houston, Mississippi. He was a first cousin of B.B. King's mother (White's mother and K ...

. His second recording with Hoffman, ''Fish Ain't Bitin, was the recipient of the 1997

W.C. Handy Award WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * W.C. (film), ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connectio ...

for ''Best Acoustic Blues Album of the Year''. Recorded in New Orleans, it featured Harris' original songs, vocal, and guitar backed on certain tracks by a trio of tuba and two trombones arranged by producer Hoffman. In 2002, Harris collaborated with

Ali Farka Toure ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

on his

Mississippi to Mali ''Mississippi to Mali'' is an album by Corey Harris. It was released in 2003 through Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin ...

'', fusing blues and Toure's music from northern

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...

. In 2003, he contributed to the

Northern Blues The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City O ...

release '' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash''. Harris has lived and traveled widely in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

, an influence that has permeated much of his work. Harris has toured extensively throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, West Africa, Japan and Australia. He is known for his

acoustic work as well as his electric band, formerly known as the '5 x 5', now known as The Corey Harris Band. He helped

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

and

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

to write the music for "Hoodoo Voodoo" on '' Mermaid Avenue'', an album consisting entirely of songs for which the lyrics were written by

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, American socialism and anti-fascism. He ...

. He also appeared as a musician and vocalist on the album and its sequels, '' Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' and ''

Mermaid Avenue Vol. III In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

''. In September 2007, The

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

announced that Harris was among 24 people named

MacArthur Fellows The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

for 2007. The Fellowship, worth $500,000, is payable over five years.

Discography

Solo

*1995: ''Between Midnight and Day'' (

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

) *1997: ''Fish Ain't Bitin (Alligator) *1999: ''Greens from the Garden'' (Alligator) *2000: ''Vu-Du Menz'' (Alligator) *2001: ''Live at Starr Hill 1/27/01'' (Njumba) *2002: '' Downhome Sophisticate'' ( Rounder) *2003: ''

'' (Rounder) *2005: '' Daily Bread'' (Rounder) *2007: ''Zion Crossroads'' (

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 ...

) *2009: ''blu.black'' (Telarc) *2011: ''Father Sun Mother Earth'' (Njumba) *2012: ''Motherless Child (with Lutan Fyah)'' *2013: ''Fulton Blues'' *2013: ''Rasta Blues Experience Live'' *2014: ''Fulton Blues (Deluxe Edition)'' *2015: ''Live! from Turtle Island'' *2016 ''Live in Vienna'' *2018 ''Free Water Way'' *2019 ''Louisa County Blues''

Contributions to others

*1998: '' Mermaid Avenue'' *2000: '' Mermaid Avenue Vol. II'' *2003: '' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash'' (

)Harris contributed his version of "Redemption", originally found on Cash's '' American Recordings''. *2005: ''Come to the Mountain: Old Time Music for Modern Times'' *2012: ''

'', issued as part of '' Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions''

References

External links

Official website
* Corey Harrisat

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 dat ...

Speech by Corey Harris
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Corey 1969 births Living people African-American guitarists American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Bates College alumni Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia Slide guitarists Watson Fellows MacArthur Fellows Singers from Denver Guitarists from Colorado 20th-century American guitarists Teach For America alumni 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers