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HI ALL, WELCOME. ON THIS PAGE I AM NOT GOING TO WRITE A HISTORY OF MUSIC, I AM NOT QUALIFIED FOR THAT TASK. THIS PAGE IS ONLY GOING TO BE MUSIC HISTORY AS I SEE IT.
IF I HAVE TO CHOOSE A FAVORITE MUSIC FOR MYSELF, IT IS ROCK, WITH AN INFLUENCE OF THE BLUES. THE TYPE OF ROCK I LIKE STARTED IN THE 50'S, BASICALLY, BUT THE ROOTS OF IT GO BACK TO THE BLUES OF THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA. THE CD TITLES MENTIONED BELOW ARE ONE'S I OWN AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
I WILL START WITH WILLIE DIXON, AS HE IS A CLASSIC TALENT.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~WILLIE DIXON- "The Blues are the true facts of life expressed in words and song, inspiration, feeling, and understanding." He is a Chicago Blues composer, producer, and performer. He has had a huge influence on the rock/ blues musicians of the 60's era. He worked at Chess Records, as a producer, with Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddey, Sonny Boy Williamson, and many others. (Although Bo Diddley says Willie got credit on his records as a producer and he could never figure out what he did. As you will read below, Bo is one of the few of the 50's musicians who produced his own work). He selected the musicians, the songs, oversaw rehersals, arranged the music, and supervised the recordings. He played bass on almost everyone's recordings and entered rock and roll playing on Chuck Berry's.
He was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 1, 1915. His mother, Daisy, turned everything she said into rhymes, and he followed suit. He started his music career at age 7. He learned the heavy blues in a couple of stretches at Mississippi prison farms, as a teenager. He always wrote and turned his poems into songs. He was a pro boxer for awhile, after sparring with Joe Louis. He sold sheet music on the Chicago streets and passed the hat when he played. He was playing music professionally when the army came on stage and arrested him for being a conscientious objector. He said his people were mistreated, he was not a citizen, he was a subject. It took a year of jail, courtrooms, and trials to free himself.
Phil and Leonard Chess owned a club he played in. They started a record company and hired him because of his solid bass experience and studio experience. They recoreded a few of his songs each year. Hoochie Choocie man, with Muddy Waters, was the right song at the right time to launch Dixon.
*********Songs he wrote that you will recognize Back Door Man, The Seventh Son, Spoonful, I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man, The Little Red Rooster, The Same Thing, I Can't Quit You Baby **Hear these songs on-I AM THE BLUES WILLIE DIXON, released by Columbia Legacy ***Hear the history on - WILLIE DIXON, the Chess Box
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ARTHUR CRUDUP **In an interview in 1956, and until his death, Elvis Presley thanked Arthur Crudup. He is the man Elvis used to hear on the streets of Tupelo, Mississippi. His millions of fans went crazy for Elvis, but most have not even heard Arthur Crudup. Elvis, until his last concert before his death, began his concerts with "That's All Right Mama", to pay homage to one of his chief sources of inspiration.
He was born on August 24, 1905, in Forest, Mississippi, a delta town. Arthur started in gospel choirs and quartets, when barely a teenager. At age 30, he taught himself guitar, on one with a broken neck, held together by wire. He moved to Chicago in 1940, along with other blacks looking for work and a better life. After the war he returned to MS, as he was never comfortable in the city. He was always nervous and uncomfortable playing around people, so never felt good performing. He said, "In Mississippi, a man don't need too much to get by, but in these big towns, whatever you have will get away from you."
He never got much money from his songs, as he, like most of the poor, uneducated musicians of the era, signed away virtually all rights to his own work. It wasn't til the 70's that he gained some money and recognition finally. He said, a year before his death, "When a white man sings the blues, he's singing from his lips. When a colored person sings the blues, he's singing then from his heart. That's the way he's feelin' 'em, just the way he's treated. When you're colored, you're born in the blues."
**** Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, THAT'S ALL RIGHT MAMA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HOWLIN' WOLF was also from Misssissippi. His real name is Chester Arthur Burnettt, he was born on June 10, 1910, in Aberdeen. The true blues are from the soil, true American toil and hardship. The Wolf was influenced by Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Sonny Boy Williamson. He is the one who sounds most like the transition toward rock, and has been copied by many rock groups. He is the favorite of many, as he has a great beat and singing style. Many of his songs have been redone by the rock groups of the 60's and 70's. The Wolf has in turn influenced- the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Doors, Cream, George Thorogood, Stevie Ray Vaughn and many, many others.
The blues are a factual accounting of life, with is sad, more often than not. They tell of trouble, faithless men and woman, and disaster, but also of the hope of better times to come.
***HOWLIN' WOLF TWO ON ONE- MCA Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~JOHN LEE HOOKER-"When Adam and Eve first saw each other, that's when the blues started. No matter what anybody says, it all comes down to the same thing; a man and a woman, and a broken heart, and a broken home- you know what I mean?" Maybe that explains why this music talks to me, personally?
Born August 22, 1917, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was raised on a farm and learned basic guitar from his stepfather. He started performing locally at an early age. He moved to Memphis, while in his teens, playing at nightclubs and roadhouses. In the 30's, he moved to Cincinnati and worked with goshel groups. In 1943, he moved to Detroit, which was a thriving industial blues center, to work in black clubs. His recording career started in 1948. He played folk houses in the late 50's and early 60's. He went to England and Europe in 1962, for the first time.
He was influenced primarily by his stepfather Will Moore, and frquent visitors to his childhood home were Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Blind Blake. He has influenced- George Thorogood, John Mayall, The Animals, The Yardbirds, Van Morrison, Johnnie Winters, ZZ Top, Canned Heat, Steve Miller, Robert Cray, Santana, Los Lobos, Bonnie Raitt, and many many more.
John Lee Hooker is a real sucess story. All of his many CD's I have are wonderful. He has not had to hang up his guitar since 1948!
He has over 100 albums and CD's! And he sounds great! **THE HEALER- Electra **-BOOM BOOM- Virgin Records **BOOGIE CHILLEN'- Creative Sounds, LTD **PLAYS AND SINGS THE BLUES- Chess MCA Records **BOOM BOOM- Amercian Tel-Star **THE BEST CHESS SIDES- Chess MCA Records **GRAVEYARD BLUES- SPECIALTY RECORDS **THE COMPLETE 50'S CHESS RECORDINGS- Chess MCA Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~JAMES COTTON-Born in Tunica, Mississippi on July 1, 1935 (good grief, should I change this page to the Mississippi Blues Page?). James trailed Sonny Boy Williamson around the Delta, learning drums, harp, and much more. As a youth, he recorded with Howlin' Wolf. In 1954, while still in his teens, he recorded on the Sun Records label; he was recruited by Muddy Waters, who he worked with for 12 years and many reunions after that.
**JAMES COTTON-THE BEST OF THE VERVE YEARS-Verve Records **DEEP IN THE BLUES-Verve Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MUDDY WATERS- He was born as McKinley Morganfield, in 1915, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. He was recorded by Alan Lomax in the summer of 1941, and moved to Chicago that same year and signed with Aristocrat Records, which became Chess. The Rolling Stones took their name from one of his songs. He died of a heart attck in 1983, after a long career.
**MUDDY WATERS-HARD AGAIN- Blue Sky, CBS Records **The Real Folk Blues, Chess MCA Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MISSISSIPPI FRED MCDOWELL- He was born in Rossville, Tennessee, in 1905. He started to play when he was 12, influenced by his uncle, Gene Shields, who used a beef bone as a slider. McDowell experimented with bones, knives, and bottle necks. He started performing at fish fry dances, in his area. He did not own his own guitar until the early 1940's. He was discovered by Alan Lomax, recording for the Library of Congress, in 1959. The results were issued in 1960, by Atlantic, in a "Southern Folk Music Series" of LP's. He soon became an international sensation. He used an inch long lip of a Gordon's Gin bottle for his slide. He died of cancer in 1972, after receiving one check from the Rolling Stones for "You Gotta Move". Bonnie Raitt and Leo Kottke echo his legacy today. He said of himself, "I do not play no rock 'n roll".
**MISSISSIPPI FRED MCDOWELL-AIN'T GONNA WORRY-Drive Archives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHUCK BERRY- Born in St Louis, Missouri, Charles Edward Anderson Berry, started playing guitar in high school. He started in local clubs. Muddy Waters referred him to Chess Records, so Chuck took them "Maybellene". Leonard Chess liked it and the kids loved it! This new sound encouraged the kids to be wild, rebellious, and free. From 1955 to 1961, he was second only to Elvis, as the top rock and roll star. He was sensational on stage and drove the audience wild. He represents the turbulence and yearning of youth, the doubts and fears of sex.
He influenced the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Who, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, the Police, and many more rock and roll bands. I have always loved Chuck Berry, but I do not think his recordings do him justice. I saw him in concert, at the Sonoma County Fair, in about 1986. He was late and kept us all waiting about 2 hours for him, which made us all grumpy and mad. But, when he finally got there and played, it was the best! He has such a vibrant presence, we were all rocking enthusiastically and quickly forgave him for being late. He is notorious for this type of thing.
**THE GREAT TWENTY-EIGHT CHUCK BERRY- Chess Records, MCA **MORE ROCK AND ROLL RARITIES-CHUCK BERRY Chess MCA Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GOSPEL MUSIC- THE ST ANDREWS GOSPELAIRES were a 5 piece jubilee group from the Enoch Grove Baptist Church, who sang at local churches and auditoriums in the Jackson, Mississippi area. They were formed in 1938 and recorded in 1950, at a radio station. They were semi-professional, though they all held regular jobs, also. They have a beat and a harmony simular to rock, in my mind.
**IN THE SPIRIT-THE GOSPEL AND JUBILEE RECORDINGS OF TRUMPET RECORDS-Alligator Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ALBERT KING- I saw Albert King at a concert at UCSD, when I was in High School. It was a small room, so we could get up close and see him play. He really is the guitar king! He was born in 1923, in Indianola, Mississippi. His father was an itinerant preacher who left when Albert was 5. He was raised on his mother's farm, in Forest City, Arkansas. Albert taught himself to play the guitar. He admired the Hawaiian steel guitar. He worked as a bulldozer driver until he was 33, when he became a full time musician.
He calls his guitar by name and used to say he had a secret way to tune it. He revealed her name, when he did the song "I Love Lucy". The guitar is the voice of his music, the voice of a woman. Albert looks at her with love, nodding and laughing, as he plays and sings with her.
**ALBERT KING- KING OF THE BLUES GUITAR- Atlantic Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B.B. KING- He is the man, the king of blues! He and Lucille can rip. He was born Riley B. King, in Itta Bena, Mississippi, on September 16, 1925, to Albert and Nora Ella King, on a cotton plantation. He started with gospel music and Archie Fair of the Holiness Church in Kilmicheal helped teach him how to play guitar and sing. He says his early influences were jazz guitarists Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, and T-Bone Walker.
In 1946 he went to Memphis, where he received further musical instruction and encouragement, from his uncle, Bukka White. He worked as a DJ at the WDIA radio station, in early 1949. He was called The Beale Street Blues Boy" which was shorted to Blues Boy King, then B.B. His first recordings were in 1949 for the Bullet Recording and Transcription Company. This led to recognition and the Bihari brothers signed King for a ten year recording contract with Modern Records. He bought the 'Big Red' bus in 1955 and started touring. He started out at black venues. He came to white audiences in the flower power days of San Francisco. He made his first network television appearance on the Johnny Carson show with 'The Thrill is Gone', in 1969 and on the Ed Sullivan show in 1971.
B.B. King has been a major influence to many rock guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomsfield, and the Butterfield Blues Band. He has performed with many musicians, such as U2 on the song 'Angel of Harlem' and Fleetwood Mac. When Peter Green guested on a track for King's Live in London sessions in June 1971, B.B. remembered "a disillusioned and very quiet Peter in the studio who didn't say much at all; but I got the feeling that he just seemed to find it a comfort sitting near to me for a while." He has released more than fifty albums and been honored with four Grammy Awards. "What else am I gonna do? I've got bills to pay, I enjoy working, and I'll keep working until the people don't want to hear me anymore." He still tours most of the year and plays many charity shows. His favorite cause is prison reform.
I saw the king at a casino show in South Lake Tahoe. It was not a good show. I am not sure if that was the fault of the casino or B.B. The show was very short and seemed to be not worth the wait for it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OTIS REDDING- I am not sure what category Otis Redding falls under, music wise, but he makes this page because I love his song "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay". This song is over 30 years old and I have never gotten over my love of it.
He was born on September 9, 1941, in Dawson, Georgia. His father was a part time Baptist preacher and they moved to Macon when Otis was 3. Otis regularly sang in the choir, along with the rest of his family. He started on the pro curcuit with Little Richard's former backup band, the Upsetters, when he was in 10th grade, to help support his mother and sisters, as his dad had tuberculosis. He did not earn much, but sent money home each week to his family.
Otis sang with many groups and won on the local talent show, "Teenage Party". He met his wife, his manager, and his guitarist there. He was in another band, the Pinetoppers, when they did a recording session at Stax studio in Memphis. The session was a bust, but Otis kept wanting a chance to sing on his own. He kept after them, "I want to sing for you guys. I want you all to hear me." When he sang "These Arms of Mine", they knew they had a unique talent.
To Otis, his work was his life. His songs are about his life. He rose to stardom quickly on the R & B charts, but was a down to earth, non ego trip star. His last concert was a non paid appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival. He played at 1am and had the crowd in his hands. After the concert he stayed in Sausalito, on a houseboat, playing and composing songs. He wrote "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay". His music was changing, evolving. He recorded this song in December, 1967 and died 3 days later. His twin engine plane crashed into Lake Monoma, in Wisconsin, on December 10, 1967.
**The Very Best of Otis Redding- Rhino Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~JERRY LEE LEWIS- The Killer was born on September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana. He is an early rock and roller who had a wild reputation. He had talent, ego, and was a wild man at the piano. He was born to dirt poor parents, though they bought him a third hand piano for their shack. He shared piano lessons with his 2 cousins, Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Lee Swaggart and 10 year old Jerry had a remarkable talent.
He learned boogie woogie from his older cousin, Carl McVoy, and from an uncle, Lee Calhoun, who owned Haney's Big House, which catered to blacks, exclusively. Jerry mixed it up with gospel, country, and rock, to come up with his own style. By the time he was 14, he was ready for the big time. His mom enrolled him in bible college in TX, as she did not want her prodigy son in the devils work. He turned a hymn, "My God is Real" into a rockin, boogie woogie, at a church assembly, so they sent him packin'. Laugh. This religious upbring though, has given Jerry a split personality that always plagued him.
Jerry, at 21, ended up at Sun Studios, in Memphis. He has been married twice already, jailed once, turned down at every other music studio, but he burned with the passion of his music. Sam Phillips was on vacation, but Jack Clement put together a band behind Jerry and they recorded there for 7 years. One time when he was there, Carl Perkins and Elvis were too, so they did an impromtu jam session that they called Million Dollar Quartet.
Sam Phillips threw every promotional dollar he had at "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" and it went to number 1 fast. Jerry's television and concert appearances were full of manic energy and he had to outdo everyone else on the bill. He once set his piano on fire, after an appearance, so Chuck Berry could not follow his act. He was on top! He snuck off and married his 13 year old cousin, Myra Gale Brown, the daughter of his bass playing uncle J. W. Brown, in 1958. She went on tour to England with him and the british press attacked him. His tour was canceled and he came back to the U.S. in disgrace. He was banned from radio stations and his price went from $10,000 a night to $250. He kept right on and played anywhere he could. It took him 12 years to get back on the radio, but he came back in the late 60's and 70's.
His personal life continued to fall apart. He went through a few more wives, his parents died, his son died, the IRS was after him, he was into pills and alcohal and was in and out of the hospital. He got it back together in the 80's and sang great for the movie about his life, "Great Balls of Fire". This movie stars Dennis Quaid as Jerry, Wynonia Ryder as Myra, and is very enjoyable. Jerry is still popular with me!
**Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star Club in Hamburg- Rhino Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BO DIDDLEY- He was born Ellas McDaniel on December 28, 1928, in McComb, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago when he was 7, with his second cousin, Mama Gussie Mc Daniel, as his mother could not afford to raise him. His brother, Christopher stayed behind, and is now a minister in Biloxi, MS. He grew up around church music. The first record he says he paid attention to was John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen", when he was 11. Mama Gussie was upset, church people did not listen to that type of music.
He ended up in a fight every few days at school, because he was a country hick kid. He started boxing when he was 14, "And at 15, I started crackin' heads." He boxed for about 7 years, til he got married. Bo Diddley is his boxing name. He says, "I think it was a girl that started that mess. "Man, you're a Bo Diddley!" Something like that, and I could never figure out what the hell that meant." Laugh.
He took violin lessons right after he moved to chicago, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, with Professor O.W. Fredrick. He took them for about 14 years. He gets his guitar style from playing the classical violin and taught himself on guitar. His sister Lucille bought him a guitar when he was 13. He also built guitars and violins, when he was in vocational school. He wanted to be a carpenter and a mechanic. When he started playing professionally, he thought he would only do it for a few years. He started on street corners, with a trio, they called themselves the Hipsters, in the 40's, when he was a teenager. They made about $30. a night. He met Jerome Green at this time and he has stayed in the group (he plays the maracas).
In the early 50's they started in clubs. He says his music is "It's mixed up with spiritual, sanctified rhythms and the feeling. The feeling comes through the instrument from the man that's playing it."
He was 26 when he made his first record. He was run out of Vee Jay Records and went across the street to Chess Records, where Leonard and Phil gave him a chance. He says he wasn't too accepted at Chess, being the new kid, and it was a long time before Muddy Waters would stop to talk to him. He is now friends with Chuck Berry, and says Chuck did not associate with anybody. He thinks it was a professional jealousy that kept everyone apart. Willie Dixon would hum a melody and Bo would put music to it.
He moved to Washington D.C. in 1958 and had his own recording studio there. He still has the equipment and bought some more old stuff from Chuck Berry. Bo always liked to cut his own music, cause he knew exactly what he wanted and felt Chess horned in. He was one of the few 50's rockers who produced his own recordings, and even recorded them in stereo.
His songs have been recorded by many rockers. Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Who, the Pretty Things, Ronnie Hawkins, the Doors, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Johnny Otis, and Bob Seger to name only a few. His style, beat, and guitar riffs have been copied by many more. He has a down home style, but he developed it in an urban, street corner environment. He rarely ever returned to Mississippi, but Chicago at this time was known as Little Mississippi. In the 30's and 40's many blacks moved up there for work. One family member would move up and gradually the whole family would migrate for work. Entire blocks would all be from the same rural area of Mississippi. The entire culture was transplanted and people stayed with their own kind, even though they were in the city. Down home ways were preserved in sayings, slang, game songs, and other cultural expresssions. Bo's music is from the combo of this, religious music, his classical training and street corner jive.
I saw Bo Diddley in a Santa Fe, NM bar, music club, in about 1990. He is a great rocker, he had us all up dancing to his beat! And he played and played and played. I got smoked out by all the cigarette smokers, after about 3 hours the club had such a thick haze we could hardly see, (thank you California for your non smoking laws) and left, as Bo played on. I would love to see him again. Hey Bo Diddleyyyyyyy
**Bo Diddley Chess Box- Chess MCA Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TAJ MAHAL- He was born Henry St Clair Fredrick, on May 17, 1942, in New York City, N.Y. He was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, and had a S.C gospel singing mom and West Indian, jazz musician dad (who his friends called the Genuis, he spoke 7 languages). His father was killed when Taj was 11, by being crushed by a tractor, in front of Taj. His mom went back to school for a master's degree in early childhood education, before she remarried. His childhood was totally musical.
He was around blues, jazz, gospel, and many other kinds of music. His new step dad was Jamacian and Taj says he was the cat with a guitar. Taj found a guitar in the hall closet and took it to the basement. He says he sat on the stairs and felt it up and down. He just couldn't keep his hands off that guitar. His uncle James played alto sax. He also loved to read, especially books on aviation, fishing, and heavy machinery. He says he was an action guy and loved "how to" books. He worked on a farm in Palmer when he was 16 and learned to love the land.
Taj explores all different music territory, but his core is the blues. He went to the University of Massachusetts in the 60's. Musically he loved Richie Havens, T-Bone Walker, Jesse Lee Kincaid (who was friends with Ry Cooder). His BA is in agriculture, and he studied animal husbandry. He lives in Hawaii now, on a farm.
He teamed up with Ry Cooder in 1964 to form The Rising Sons. Ry dug deep into the history of guitar. After that, Taj went out onto the itinerant blues circuit on his own. He says the blues guys gave him grief, saying he was too urban and had a college degree. He didn't care, he played to please himself, with his father's bebop attitude. The Rising Sons opened for Otis Redding. He couldn't wait to hear Redding and considered him a hero. Taj says modern soul is a much a part of him as the delta blues. The white hippies accepted Taj; he wasn't sure they understood him, until he walked by a club, heard his music played, and saw everyone with heads nodding and fingers snapping.
I saw Taj play for my first date with my husband, in the early 70's, at the old Roxie Movie Theater in Pacific Beach, with Ry Cooder. We both liked him then and still do.
**The Natch'l Blues- Edsel Records **Senor Blues- Private Music **An Evening of Acoustic Music- House of Blues Music Co **In Progress and In Motion 1965-1998- Columbia Records
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHRIS ISAAK- Chris is not considered a blues artist, but his music is about lost love, a common blues theme, so I will include him; plus he is one of my favorites! He was born on June 26, 1956, in Stockton, California. He is from a blue collar family, a son of a forklift operator. He was a radio lover and had his whole backyard wired to get radio stations from all over the U.S. and Canada. He used to lay in bed most of the night and listen to music. He loved all kinds. He and his brother used to sing ballads to their mom.
He went to college at the University of the Pacific, studying english, film making and journalism. He graduated in 1980. He says he got into music, while in Japan for a semester, when he heard an Elvis record and got it stuck in his head, so sang it again and again. His neighbor lady told him he should be a singer. He was also an amateur boxer in college.
He was influenced by Elvis and Roy Orbison, in his early recordings. He moved to San Francisco after graduation and later formed a band, the Silvertones. The started at the bottom, playing in bars and nightclubs in the Bay Area. (He also became a surfer). He is influenced by jazz and rockabilly, especially the old Sun Records guys. He says, "I'm always going to make records where the emphasis is on a good song with the voice out front."
"Those ideas get stuck in my head and the only way I can say 'em is in music. The way I write, I sit down with a guitar, and usually it's in the dark, and I just start singing like I'm talking to myself. It all comes out at one time, the melody and the words." "I'd never give up music, because I like to sing more than anything. More than anything. People always ask me, 'What do you do on your time off?' I tell 'em I sing, 'cause that's what I like to do. Call me a one-dimensional shallow person, but if I got time off, I grab my guitar and play some more."
**Heart Shaped World- Reprise Records **San Francisco Days- Reprise **Baja Sessions- Reprise **Forever Blue- Reprise **Chris Isaak- Warner Bros **Silvertone- Warner Bros
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~KEB' MO'- A slang for Kevin Moore, he was raised in Compton, California (South Central LA). His parents are from Texas and Louisiana and his early music raising was on R & B and Baptist church music. He started touring when he was 21, with blues violinist Papa John Creach. They toured for 3 years. His influences are Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Mississippi John Hurt, and Etta James. He now lives in New Orleans.
**Keb'Mo'- Epic Records Group **Just Like You- Epic Records Group
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