ELVIN BISHOP
The Blues got a big new audience in the 60s when white kids discovered the power of this fantastically expressive music, which they took up enthusiastically and turned into a cultural phenomenon. The British Blues Boom, and bands like The Stones and The Animals took the world by storm, but in The States some youngsters had first hand access to the real thing, in Blues clubs in the African-American communities of Chicago, Texas, the West-coast and other urban locations. The Butterfield Blues Band was in the front line of this mission to bring The Blues into the mainstream, and founding guitarist Elvin Bishop brought the band experience beyond his years as they crossed the race-line with their groundbreaking music.
‘Red Dog Speaks’, so you better listen!
[weaver_youtube http://youtu.be/WotY7mcdSq4 id=videoid sd=0 percent=100 ratio=0.5625 center=1 rel=1 https=0 privacy=0]
In 1968, Elvin relocated to San Francisco where he signed for Bill Graham’s Fillmore stable, and played with BB King, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix at the boss’s venue in town. Elvin later moved to Epic Records and in 1976 had a No.3 single in the Hot 100 with ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love’. He maintained a healthy annual output of albums and a busy international touring schedule throughout the 70s, but a few slow years in the 80s came to an end when he signed for Alligator Records. The ‘Big Fun’ album in 1988 was the first of five great records where Elvin showed his considerable guitar chops, his maturing vocal style and his growing command of songwriting.
[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”Elvin Bishop Discography” float=”true” align=”left” width=”300″]Download ‘Big Fun’ or grab any of Elvin’s Alligator albums. This one has some great spoken spoken sections between his fine Blues playing.
ACE IN THE HOLE
[/stextbox]Elvin suffered a devastating personal setback in 2000, when his daughter and ex-wife were murdered in an extortion plot gone wrong. This tragedy took Elvin out of circulation for a good while, and his 2005 album was titled ‘Getting My Groove Back’, mixing some angry, bitter Blues with more up-tempo material. The follow-up, ‘The Blues Rolls On’ had guest spots from BB King, James Cotton, George Thorogood, Derek Trucks and many more. Elvin also released the ‘Chicago Blues Buddies’ album with his old mentor Little Smokey Smothers. Elvin continues to work, playing concerts, Festivals and Blues Cruises, and releasing his thoughtful albums, playing his signature guitar, the ‘Red Dog’ Gibson ES that has been his constant companion for almost half a century.