SON SEALS
| Son was born in Osceola, Arkansas
in 1942 and was immediately immersed into the blues. His childhood home was a few rooms in
the back of his father Jimmies juke joint, The Dipsy Doodle (famous for blues in the front
and dice in the back). As a small child, Son was surrounded by great blues and great
bluesmen. With musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson, Albert King and Robert Nighthawk
playing within earshot of his bed nearly every night, Son knew the blues before he began
walking. Even with all the great bluesmen around the house, Son's father Jim was his greatest inspiration. Jim Seals had played piano, trombone, guitar and drums, touring with the famed Rabbit Foot Minstrels, the training ground of Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Because he was such a well-known musician, Jim was able to draw some of the biggest names to perform at his club.When Son decided at an early age to become a musician like his father, Jim made sure Son would learn to do things right. ìMy father taught me everything from the start,î Son recalls. tuning the guitar, fingering. Where I wanted to be riffing around all up and down the neck right away, he'd keep me on one chord for hours, until I could feel in it in my sleep. I'd get up the next morning, grab the guitar, and I'd be right on that chord. Son learned his lessons well. By the time he was 18, Son Seals was leading his own band as a guitarist during the week and playing drums backing up whomever was playing at his father's club on the weekends. He hit the road playing drums with Earl Hooker and soon after that with Albert King (with whom he recorded the seminal Stax album Live Wire/Blues Power). He moved to Chicago in 1971 and began jamming with everyone from Junior Wells to Hound Dog Taylor to James Cotton and Buddy Guy. After Hound Dog Taylor's debut album hit and he began touring, Son took over Hound Dog's regular weekend gigs at The Expressway Lounge on Chicago's South Side. Son's 1973 debut recording, The Son Seals Blues Band, established him as a blazing, original blues artist. Son's audience base grew as he toured extensively, playing colleges, clubs and festivals throughout the country. His 1977 follow-up, Midnight Son, received widespread acclaim from every major music publication. Rolling Stone called it one of the most significant blues albums of the decade.î On the strength of Midnight Son, Seals began what would become two decades of regular tours of Europe, and he even did a national television ad for Olympia beer. His next album, Live and Burning, captured Son at the height of his powers, delivering a ferocious live set to his hometown Chicago audience. His following two albums, Chicago Fire and Bad Axe, found Son experimenting with more jazzy arrangements and varied horn parts while maintaining his raw guitar picking and passionate, growling singing style. After a seven year recording hiatus, Son returned in 1991 with his most socially conscious album, Living In The Danger Zone. With the addition of Red Groetzinger ñ whose sax and flute playing and arranging skills added many new dimensions to Son's music ñ Son reestablished his national reputation. Seal's next album, 1994ís Nothing But The Truth, found Seal's guitar and voice as strong and emotive as ever. excellent modern blues, exclaimed Blues & Rhythm. Musician declared, performances of the most profound emotion...one of the genres most soulful exorcists.î Son's reputation as a fierce live performer and an original songwriter has taken him from playing in small clubs to headlining international blues festivals.While he has chosen to limit his touring outside of Chicago, Seals can usually be found playing one of the city's premiere blues hangouts, taking his loyal fans on a musical journey through the good times and the bad heartaches that are the blues. When he sings and plays, you can feel the passion, the grit, and above all else, the deep emotion embedded in his music. Now, with Live n' Spontaneous Combustion, people everywhere can feel the heat and hear the power of the legendary Bad Axe testifying the blues to his devoted congregation of hometown believers. |
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