Short Biography
Blues-rock guitar virtuoso, vocalist and songwriter Joe Bonamassa kicked off 2007 with the honour of being named Best Blues Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine's readership in their annual Reader's Choice Awards. The year continued with the release of Sloe Gin, Bonamassa's seventh solo album, and fourth on his own J&R Adventures label. A mix of heavy blues, big rock and textured acoustic tracks that Joe says was in part inspired by Rod Stewart's legendary 1969 debut solo LP, it reunites him with producer Kevin Shirley (Joe Satriani, Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin).
Joe's recording career launched in the early '90s when he met Berry Oakley, Jr., son of the Allman Brot...
See More
Short Biography
Blues-rock guitar virtuoso, vocalist and songwriter Joe Bonamassa kicked off 2007 with the honour of being named Best Blues Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine's readership in their annual Reader's Choice Awards. The year continued with the release of Sloe Gin, Bonamassa's seventh solo album, and fourth on his own J&R Adventures label. A mix of heavy blues, big rock and textured acoustic tracks that Joe says was in part inspired by Rod Stewart's legendary 1969 debut solo LP, it reunites him with producer Kevin Shirley (Joe Satriani, Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin).
Joe's recording career launched in the early '90s when he met Berry Oakley, Jr., son of the Allman Brothers Band bassist, and they formed Bloodlines, also featuring Robby Krieger's son Waylon and Miles Davis' son Erin. They released a self-titled CD praised for its hard-charging fusion of blues, funk, boogie and roadhouse rock. The full range of Bonamassa's talents, though, came into sharper relief after the group disbanded. His virtuoso playing finally had the room it needed, and his strength as an expressive singer emerged. "I started belting things out and found this voice I never knew I had," he says. "I'd play around with emulating some of my favorite singers, Paul Rodgers, Gregg Allman, Rod Stewart. Ultimately, it's allowed me a freedom as an artist I hadn't felt before."
Bonamassa's solo debut was 2000's Top 10 disc A New Day Yesterday, named for the 1969 Jethro Tull hit that Joe steals with what allmusic.com calls, "a jaw-dropping performance." Produced by the late, legendary Tom Dowd, the album features guest shots by Gregg Allman, Rick Derringer and Leslie West, among others. The powerhouse original "Miss You, Hate You" remains a cornerstone of Joe's repertoire, as does the slide guitar showcase "Cradle Rock." He followed it up in '02 with his first #1 album So, It's Like That, including the tour de force "Pain And Sorrow."
Blues Deluxe came next in 2003 (the "Year Of The Blues"), and is Bonamassa's soulful tribute to the genre. In the liner notes, Harris Cohen says that Joe, "never loses touch with the raw emotion that makes the blues what it is." Former Creem editor Jaan Uhelszki wrote, "New York guitar phenom walks tall in the blues tradition...jettisoning fiery riffs inspired by John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Elmore James, and Albert Collins into the future with furious playing, a hard-rock sensibility, and a grizzled voice that owes a debt to Gregg Allman." Bonamassa's forward propulsion of the blues continued with 2004's Had To Cry Today, a sweltering fusion of fresh and classic sounds including covers of songs by Blind Faith (the title track), Ten Years After, Lowell Fulsom and others. It earned the Album Of The Year award from the readers of BluesWax, the world's largest subscribed blues publication.
With 2007's Sloe Gin, Bonamassa's redefinition of the blues-rock art form continues to evolve as does his own identity as one of contemporary music's most profoundly talented stars. Joe also actively serves as the youngest-ever member of the Memphis, TN-based Blues Foundation's Board of Directors, and is the lead spokesperson for their highly respected Blues In The Schools program, which educates students nationwide about the legacy and influence of the blues.
In-depth Biography
Guitar mastermind Joe Bonamassa, a young player with the childhood dream of playing music similar to legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix, was 22 when he inked a deal with Epic. Hailing from Utica, New York, Bonamassa could play the blues before he could drive a car. He first heard Stevie Ray Vaughan at age four and was instantly taken by Vaughan's high-powered playing. At the age eight, he opened for B.B. King, and at age 12, he was playing regularly around upstate New York. It was soon thereafter that Bonamassa hooked up with the band Bloodline, which featured other musicians' sons: Waylon Krieger (Robby Krieger's son), Erin Davis (Miles Davis' drummer kid), and Berry Oakley, Jr. (son of the Allman Brothers bassist). Bloodline released a self-titled album, but Bonamassa wanted to move on. In summer 2000 he guested for Roger McGuinn on Jethro Tull's summer tour, later releasing his debut solo album, A New Day Yesterday. Produced by longtime fan Tom Dowd, the album marked a move toward a more organic and rock-sounding direction. He put together a power trio with drummer Kenny Kramme and bassist Eric Czar and hit the road to support the album. Upon returning from the road, he hooked up with Dowd to record the muscular and sweeping studio disc So, It's Like That and released a document of the tour, A New Day Yesterday Live. The following year, Bonamassa put out Blues Deluxe, featuring nine cover versions of blues classics alongside three originals. The muscular You & Me appeared in 2006, followed by the more acoustic-tinged Sloe Gin in 2007. A year later, Bonamassa released the two-disc live album Live from Nowhere in Particular, followed in 2009 by The Ballad of John Henry. Late in 2009 he released the DVD Live from the Royal Albert Hall with guest spots from Eric Clapton and Paul Jones. In 2010, the guitarist released his first disc for the Premier Artists label, Black Rock, featuring a guest appearance by B.B. King. It was followed by the debut album from Black Country Communion, a blues-rock supergroup which put him in the company of bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, drummer Jason Bonham, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. Bonamassa, ever the overachiever, released his earthy Dust Bowl in March of 2011, followed by Black Country Communion's 2 in June and by his unique collaboration with vocalist Beth Hart on a searing collection of soul covers entitled Don't Explain in September. ~ MacKenzie Wilson & Al Campbell, Rovi
See Less
