Joe Bonamassa (born May 8, 1977) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
ist/singer.
Early life
Bonamassa was born in
Utica, New YorkUtica is a city in the American state of New York, and the county seat of Oneida County.The city of Utica is situated within the region referred to as the Mohawk Valley and the Leatherstocking Region in Central New York State. Utica has an extensive park system, with winter and summer sports...
, USA. He received his first guitar from his father at the age of 5, by 7 he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughn tunes note for note. At the age of 11, during a short period of being mentored by
Danny GattonDanny Gatton was an American guitarist who committed suicide at his Maryland home in 1994. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
, he learned such styles as
countryCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
and
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
as well as heavy rock. During this time with Gatton, Bonamassa sat in with Gatton's band whenever they played in
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. He first opened for
B. B. KingRiley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter acclaimed for his expressive singing and guitar playing....
at 12 years of age. After first hearing him play, King said, “This kid's potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind.” At 14, he was invited to attend a Fender guitar event; during that trip to the
West CoastThe "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coastline" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It most often comprises California, Oregon and Washington...
he met Berry Oakley, Jr. Bonamassa and Berry founded the group
BloodlineBloodline was an American blues rock band composed of the sons of several well-known rock musicians. It was also Joe Bonamassa's first band.Bloodline signed to Varese Sarabande/Capitol in 1994 and released one self-titled album. The group's members were Erin Davis , Waylon Krieger , and Berry...
with
Miles DavisMiles Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer.Widely considered one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music including cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz...
's son Erin and
Robby KriegerRobert Alan Krieger is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", "Touch Me" and "Love Her Madly".He is listed as number 91 on Rolling Stones list of the 100...
's son Waylon. They released one album which produced two chart singles — "Stone Cold Hearted", and "Dixie Peach." He has since played with other music greats including
Buddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American blues guitarist and singer. Known as an inspiration to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many other guitarists, Guy is considered an important exponent of Chicago blues. He is the father of female rapper Shawnna and...
,
ForeignerForeigner is an English rock band formed in New York City in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones, ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald, and American vocalist Lou Gramm...
,
Robert CrayRobert Cray is an American blues musician, guitarist, and singer. According to the book Guinness Rockopedia, "the 1980s 'blues revival' revolved around Cray...
,
Stephen StillsStephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
,
Joe CockerJohn Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock/blues singer who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
,
Gregg AllmanGregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman , is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band...
,
Steve WinwoodStephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English singer-songwriter who performs and writes rock, blues-rock, and jazz. He sings with a tenor voice and is a multi-instrumentalist who plays Hammond organ, guitar, bass, and other string instruments. In addition to his solo career, he was a member of...
,
Paul JonesPaul Jones may refer to:*Paul Jones , Australian politician*Paul Jones , American Episcopal Bishop*Paul Jones *Paul Jones , computer technologist...
,
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
,
Derek TrucksDerek Trucks is a Grammy Award-nominated American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He is a long-time member of the Allman Brothers Band and his own band, which he founded at age 15 and bears his name...
, and Jeff Parmenter.
Influences
Unlike other successful blues-rock guitarists, Bonamassa has cited his influences as being British and Irish
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in 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...
acts, rather than American acts.
In an interview in
GuitaristGuitarist is a monthly music making magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. The magazine features reviews of newly released guitars, amplifiers and other equipment, plus interviews with guitar players, features on the guitar industry, news articles, and features on playing...
magazine (issue 265), he cited the three albums that had the biggest influence on his playing:
John Mayall & the BluesbreakersJohn Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and '67 then dropped it for some fifteen years, but in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and it has...
with
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
(the Beano album),
Rory GallagherRory Gallagher was an Irish blues/rock guitarist. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland on March 2, 1948, he grew up in Cork City. He is best known for his solo albums throughout the 1970's and 1980's, and for his tenure in the band Taste during the late 1960s...
's
Irish TourIrish Tour '74 is a blues oriented rock double-album by Rory Gallagher. The album was compiled from live recordings made at concerts on an Irish Tour in January 1974 at Belfast Ulster Hall, Dublin Carlton Cinema and Cork City Hall...
and
Goodbye by
CreamCream were a 1960s British blues-rock band and supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Their sound was characterised by a hybrid of blues, hard rock and psychedelic rock...
.
He elaborated further on his influences in his review with Guitar Messanger:
"You know, my heroes were the English guys –
Paul KossoffPaul Francis Kossoff was a rock guitarist best known as a member of the band Free.Kossoff was ranked 51st in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" -Early days:...
,
Peter GreenPeter Green may refer to:*Peter Green , English blues guitarist, founder of Fleetwood Mac*Peter Green , British historian & translator*Peter Green , Australian PR Manager & writer...
,
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
. There’s so many - there’s
Gary MooreGary Moore is a Northern Irish guitarist and singer.In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore has played with artists including Thin Lizzy, BB King, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and the Blues-rock band Skid Row, as well as having a successful solo career...
,
Rory GallagherRory Gallagher was an Irish blues/rock guitarist. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland on March 2, 1948, he grew up in Cork City. He is best known for his solo albums throughout the 1970's and 1980's, and for his tenure in the band Taste during the late 1960s...
– another Irishman who played the same things, but don’t tell him that. But those guys were my guys –
Jeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He was one of the three noted guitarists — the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page — to have played with The Yardbirds...
,
Jimmy PageJames Patrick Page OBE is an Englishcomposer and record producer.Page has been described as "unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history". In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Page #9 in its list of the 100 Greatest...
. There’s a certain sophistication to their approach to the blues that I really like, more so than the American blues that I was listening to. BB King’s a big influence – he’s probably my biggest traditional influence. I love Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and T-Bone Walker and stuff like that, but I couldn’t sit down… I was always forcing myself to listen to whole records by them, where I’d rather listen to Humble Pie do “I’m Ready” than Muddy Waters, you know? I think, the English interpretation of the blues just hit me a lot better, you know?"
And also in his October 2008 interview with Express & Star:
“When I heard Kossoff playing Mr Big and when I heard Clapton playing Crossroads and when I heard Rory Gallagher playing Cradle Rock, I was like ‘This is way cooler’.... “British blues are my thing. When I heard Rod Stewart and the
Jeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He was one of the three noted guitarists — the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page — to have played with The Yardbirds...
Group singing Let Me Love You it changed my life. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Those are my influences".
These influences are evident in his music, but Bonamassa has been influenced by other artists; notable examples include B.B. King, Robert Johnson,
Danny GattonDanny Gatton was an American guitarist who committed suicide at his Maryland home in 1994. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
,
Eric JohnsonEric Johnson is an American guitarist and recording artist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, New Age, and country and western music into his recordings.Guitar Player magazine calls Johnson "One of the most...
,
Albert CollinsAlbert Collins was an electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the U.S.A., Europe, Japan and Australia. He had many nicknames, such as "The Ice Man", "The Master of the Telecaster" and "The Razor...
,
Stevie Ray VaughanStevie Ray Vaughan was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Eighteen albums of Vaughan's work have been released...
and
Buddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American blues guitarist and singer. Known as an inspiration to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many other guitarists, Guy is considered an important exponent of Chicago blues. He is the father of female rapper Shawnna and...
. Bonamassa's style of playing incorporates the wide range of genres these influences cover:
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
,
blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
,
Delta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, the Mississippi River on the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
,
electric bluesElectric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
, jazz, country - and even
prog rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
as evidenced by Yes's "
Heart of the Sunrise"Heart of the Sunrise" is a progressive rock song by British band Yes. It is the ninth and final track on their fourth album, 1972's Fragile. The compositional credits go to Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, and Chris Squire, though keyboardist Rick Wakeman contributed some uncredited sections.The song...
" and "Starship Trooper" / "Wurm" section being regular features of live performances.
Solo career
Bonamassa's first solo album,
A New Day YesterdayA New Day Yesterday is Joe Bonamassa's debut album released in 2000, named for the 1969 Jethro Tull hit.
It was recorded at Pyramid Recording Studios, Ithaca, New York and produced by Tom Dowd...
, was released in 2000 and produced by
Tom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
. Bonamassa added drummer Kenny Kramme and bassist Eric Czar as bandmates to tour and support the album.
After touring to support his first album, Bonamassa and the band returned to the studio in 2002 and worked with producer Clif Magness to release his second album
So, It's Like That. The second album contained more traditional
rock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
than his previous studio album, attaining number one on the Billboard Blues Chart.
Positive fan feedback resulted in the 2003 release of
Blues Deluxe, which was released to support the Year of the Blues. The album features nine covers of classic blues tunes along with three songs written by Bonamassa. This album also reached number one on the Billboard Blues Chart.
2005 saw the release of
Had to Cry Today, which returned to the more traditional rock music sound heard in
So, it's Like That. In late 2005, after extensive touring with his previous trio, Bonamassa changed the line-up of the musicians in his touring band. He enlisted the help of bassist Mark Epstein and former
Kenny Wayne ShepherdKenny Wayne Shepherd is an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced a rare level of commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician...
drummer, Bogie Bowles.
In 2006, Bonamassa released his fifth full-length studio album, entitled
You & Me. This album also appeared at #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. For the recording of this album, he enlisted the talents of multiple
studio musiciansSession musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders...
such as
Jason BonhamJason Bonham is an English drummer and son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.-Biography:Bonham was born in the town of Dudley, Worcestershire. He first began playing drums at the age of four, and appeared with his father in the film The Song Remains the Same, drumming on a scaled-down...
, son of
John BonhamJohn Henry "Bonzo" Bonham was an English drummer and songwriter, best known as the drummer of the band Led Zeppelin.He was renowned for his power, fast right foot, distinctive sound and "feel" for the groove....
. "Your Funeral And My Trial", a track on the album, featured harmonica prodigy L.D. Miller.
You & Me is Bonamassa's heaviest blues album, breaking away from the heavier rock styles featured in
So, it's Like That, and
Had to Cry Today. The title of the album was taken from the Django Reinhardt song "Vous et Moi" (You and Me) 1942. The violin intro of that song was actually played by Reinhardt and inspired Bonamassa to write "Django", the 7th track on the album. Longer live versions would later appear on "LIVE...From Nowhere In Particular" 2009, and at the May 4th Royal Albert Hall Concert (Live DVD).
Sloe Gin was released in August 2007, and, as of March 2008, had spent more than 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard Blues Chart. This album features much more
acoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by its strings. The term is a retronym, coined after the advent of electric guitars, which depend on electronic amplification to make their sound audible....
work than any of Bonamassa's previous albums. Bonamassa's touring band underwent another change for this album's tour; bassist Carmine Rojas replaced Epstein and keyboardist Rick Melick was added. Both of the new band members took part in the recordings of
You And Me and
Sloe Gin.
Bonamassa presented his first live show as DJ on UK radio station
Planet RockPlanet Rock is the name of several things:* "Planet Rock" , a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force* Planet Rock: The Album, a 1986 album containing the song...
on Sunday November 9, 2008, playing tracks from the likes of B.B. King,
Muddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". He is also the actual father of blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry "Mud Morganfield" Williams...
,
Rory GallagherRory Gallagher was an Irish blues/rock guitarist. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland on March 2, 1948, he grew up in Cork City. He is best known for his solo albums throughout the 1970's and 1980's, and for his tenure in the band Taste during the late 1960s...
and
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
.
In November 2008 Bonamassa announced he would be playing at the
Royal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London on May 4, 2009. Tickets for the concert sold out in less than a week. Bonamassa described the event to the
Express & StarThe Express & Star is an evening newspaper based in Wolverhampton, England, published in 11 different editions covering the Black Country, Birmingham and areas of the wider West Midlands from Tamworth to Kidderminster....
as "the complete culmination of 20 years of work for me."
At the Royal Albert Hall gig 4 May 2009, Joe Bonamassa stated that the first song that he learned to play was "Further on up the Road" and he then introduced Eric Clapton and together they performed the song, which Joe had been featuring on his current tour. Later in the gig, Joe paid tribute to the 'Paul Jones Radio Hour' on BBC Radio for playing his material on the air, then introduced
Paul JonesPaul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:...
(ex
Manfred MannManfred Mann were a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboard player and founder, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Mann's Earth Band.-Beginnings :...
& Blues Band) who played blues harp/harmonica on a Sonny Boy Williamson song called "Your Funeral, My Trial." Joe thanked the audience for "being a part of the best day of his life."
Discography
- 2000 – A New Day Yesterday
A New Day Yesterday is Joe Bonamassa's debut album released in 2000, named for the 1969 Jethro Tull hit.
It was recorded at Pyramid Recording Studios, Ithaca, New York and produced by Tom Dowd...
- 2002 – So, It's Like That
Personnel includes: Joe Bonamassa ; Kenny Kramme ; Eric Czar
-Track Listing:#"My Mistake", 4:53#"Lie, No...
- 2002 – A New Day Yesterday, Live
- 2003 – Blues Deluxe
- 2004 – Had To Cry Today
- 2006 – You & Me
- 2007 – Sloe Gin UK
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus.To qualify for the UK albums...
#50
- 2008 – Live From Nowhere in Particular
Double CD Live set released by Joe Bonamassa in 2008 on the label J*R Adventures as PRAR65328.
- CD 1 :1. Bridge To Better Days
2. Walk In My Shadows
3. So Many Roads
4. India/Mountain Time
5. Another Kind Of Love
6. Sloe Gin
...
UKThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website ; the full Top 200 is published exclusively in ChartsPlus.To qualify for the UK albums...
#45
- 2009 - The Ballad of John Henry U.S. #103, UK #26
DVDs
Live at the Rockpalast was released in 2005, and recorded at the Burg Satzvey in Mechernich, Germany. It is one of the last concerts Bonamassa performed with his original band.
A live DVD titled
A New Day Yesterday, Live was given away for a short period of time with
So, It's Like That. This concert was later re-released as a full CD and DVD.
An instructional DVD,
Signature Sounds, Styles and Techniques, was released in 2006.
A live DVD, "Joe Bonamassa: Live From Royal Albert Hall." was released in September 2009.
External links