Corey Harris
Encyclopedia
Corey Harris is an American
blues
and reggae
musician
, currently residing in Virginia
. Along with Keb' Mo'
and Alvin Youngblood Hart
, he raised the flag of acoustic
guitar
blues in the mid 1990s. He was featured on the 2003 PBS television
mini-series
, The Blues
, in an episode directed
by Martin Scorsese
.
with a Bachelors Degree in 1991, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2007. Harris received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
for language studies in Cameroon
in his early twenties, before taking a teaching post in Napoleonville, Louisiana
under the Teach For America
program. On his debut solo
album
Between Midnight and Day (1995) he investigated the repertoire of Charlie Patton
, Booker White, Fred McDowell
, Muddy Waters
and Sleepy John Estes
.
In 2002, Harris collaborated with Ali Farka Toure
on his album
, Mississippi to Mali
, fusing blues and Toure's music from northern Mali
. In 2003, he contributed to the Northern Blues release, Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash
.
Harris has lived and traveled widely in West Africa
, an influence that has permeated much of his work. Harris has toured extensively throughout Europe
, Canada
, West Africa, Japan
and Australia
. He is known for his solo
acoustic work as well as his electric band
, formerly known as the '5 x 5'.
He helped Billy Bragg
and Wilco
to write the music for "Hoodoo Voodoo" on Mermaid Avenue
, an album consisting entirely of song
s for which the lyrics
were written by the late Woody Guthrie
. He also appeared as a musician on the album and its sequel, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
.
In September, 2007 The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that Harris was among 24 people named MacArthur Fellows for 2007. The Fellowship, worth $500,000, is payable over five years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, currently residing in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Along with Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo is an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.-Early life:From early on he had an appreciation for the blues and gospel music...
and Alvin Youngblood Hart
Alvin Youngblood Hart
Alvin Youngblood Hart is a Grammy Award-winning American musician.-Career:Born in Oakland California, Hart had family connections with Carroll County, Mississippi, and spent time there in his childhood, hearing his relatives stories of Charlie Patton, "being around these people who were there when...
, he raised the flag of acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
blues in the mid 1990s. He was featured on the 2003 PBS television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
mini-series
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, The Blues
The Blues (film)
The Blues is a 2003 documentary film series produced by Martin Scorsese, dedicated to the history of blues music. In each of the seven episodes, a different director explores a stage in the development of the blues...
, in an episode directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
.
Biography
Harris was born and raised near Denver, Colorado. He graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, MaineLewiston, Maine
Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...
with a Bachelors Degree in 1991, and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2007. Harris received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a grant that enables graduating seniors to pursue a year of independent study outside the United States. The Fellowship Program was established by the children of Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM....
for language studies in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
in his early twenties, before taking a teaching post in Napoleonville, Louisiana
Napoleonville, Louisiana
Napoleonville is a village in and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 686 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
under the Teach For America
Teach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
program. On his debut solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Between Midnight and Day (1995) he investigated the repertoire of Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton
Charlie Patton , better known as Charley Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues man...
, Booker White, Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
and Sleepy John Estes
Sleepy John Estes
John Adam Estes , best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.-Career:...
.
In 2002, Harris collaborated with Ali Farka Toure
Ali Farka Touré
Ali Ibrahim “Farka” Touré was a Malian singer and guitarist, and one of the African continent’s most internationally renowned musicians. His music is widely regarded as representing a point of intersection of traditional Malian music and its North American cousin, the blues...
on his album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Mississippi to Mali
Mississippi to Mali
Mississippi to Mali is a blues album by Corey Harris. It was released on 18 November 2003, through Rounder Records.- Track listing :# "Coahoma" - 1:49# "Big Road Blues" - 3:05# "Special Rider Blues" - 4:54...
, fusing blues and Toure's music from northern Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. In 2003, he contributed to the Northern Blues release, Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash
Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash
Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash is a 2003 compilation album, released by Northern Blues Music, of blues-oriented songs made popular by Johnny Cash, sung by various Canadian and American performers.- Track listing :...
.
Harris has lived and traveled widely in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, an influence that has permeated much of his work. Harris has toured extensively throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, West Africa, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He is known for his solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
acoustic work as well as his electric band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formerly known as the '5 x 5'.
He helped Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
and Wilco
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 has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
to write the music for "Hoodoo Voodoo" on Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue
Mermaid Avenue is a 1998 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco. The project was organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie. Mermaid Avenue was released on the...
, an album consisting entirely of song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s for which the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
were written by the late Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
. He also appeared as a musician on the album and its sequel, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
Mermaid Avenue Vol. II is a 2000 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco...
.
In September, 2007 The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced that Harris was among 24 people named MacArthur Fellows for 2007. The Fellowship, worth $500,000, is payable over five years.
Solo
- 1995 Between Midnight and Day (AlligatorAlligator RecordsAlligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
) - 1997 Fish Ain't Bitin (Alligator)
- 1999 Greens from the Garden (Alligator)
- 2000 Vu-Du Menz (Alligator)
- 2001 Live at Starr Hill (Njumba)
- 2002 Downhome SophisticateDownhome SophisticateDownhome Sophisticate is a blues album by Corey Harris. It was released on 7 May 2002, through Rounder Records. The track Santoro is sampled for the opening theme of The Story, an American radio show.- Track listing :# "Giddyup" - 0:18...
(RounderRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
) - 2003 Mississippi to MaliMississippi to MaliMississippi to Mali is a blues album by Corey Harris. It was released on 18 November 2003, through Rounder Records.- Track listing :# "Coahoma" - 1:49# "Big Road Blues" - 3:05# "Special Rider Blues" - 4:54...
(Rounder) - 2005 Daily BreadDaily BreadDaily Bread is a blues album with heavy reggae influences by Corey Harris. It was released on 7 June 2005, through Rounder Records.- Track listing :#"Daily Bread" – 5:12#"I See Your Face" – 3:25...
(Rounder) - 2007 Zion Crossroads (TelarcTelarc International CorporationTelarc International Corporation is an independent record label, based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods...
) - 2009 blu.black (Telarc)
Contributions To Others
- 2003 Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny CashJohnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny CashJohnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash is a 2003 compilation album, released by Northern Blues Music, of blues-oriented songs made popular by Johnny Cash, sung by various Canadian and American performers.- Track listing :...
(Northern Blues)
External links
- CoreyHarrisMusic.com Official website
- [ Corey Harris] at Allmusic
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpbwXEaKjg4Speech by Corey Harris at Bates CollegeBates CollegeBates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
]