Michael Coleman (blues musician)
Encyclopedia
Michael Coleman is an American
Chicago blues
guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was voted one of the top 50 bluesmen in the world by Guitar World
magazine. Coleman has released five solo albums to date, and variously worked with James Cotton
, Aron Burton
, Junior Wells
, John Primer
and Malik Yusef.
, Illinois
, United States
. He began his musical career at a young age, playing alongside his father, Cleother "Baldhead Pete" Williams. As a teenager he played with the Top 40 showband, Midnight Sun, and played the blues with Aron Burton
and Johnny Dollar in Chicago's North Side
. In 1975 he became a full-time professional musician, and toured Europe with Eddy Clearwater
four years later. This led him directly to work for James Cotton
, and Coleman remained in his band for a period of almost ten years. Coleman backed Cotton on his Alligator Records
album, Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, and in total completed three albums with Cotton.
During the 1980s, Coleman backed Junior Wells
, Buster Benton
, and Jimmy Dawkins
, and also worked with Syl Johnson
, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s. His work was not without controversy, as in his 1987 song, "Woman Loves a Woman", he confessed he was in love with a woman, but then stated "She's in love with a woman too". Coleman formed the Backbreakers as his backing ensemble in 1991. The European record label
, Wolf Records, issued Coleman's Shake Your Booty in 1995.
His debut US
release was Do Your Thing!, issued by Delmark Records
in 2000. It featured a mixture of material encompassing blues, soul
and funk
, with cover version
s of songs previously recorded by Jimmy Reed
, Otis Redding
and Isaac Hayes
. It was noted that the quality of his guitar playing, compensated for a lightweight vocal accompaniment.
In 2006, Coleman led a string of Delmark rostered musicians on the Blues Brunch at the Mart album.
However a combination of his weight and diabetes
severely affected his health, and his doctor advised a new lifestyle which saw Coleman lose 150 pounds. On the 2010 Chicago Blues Tour, Coleman performed at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was voted one of the top 50 bluesmen in the world by Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
magazine. Coleman has released five solo albums to date, and variously worked with James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
, Aron Burton
Aron Burton
Aron Burton is an American electric and Chicago blues singer, bass guitarist and songwriter. In a long career as a sideman he has played with Freddie King, Albert Collins and Junior Wells, and has released a number of solo albums, including Good Blues to You...
, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, John Primer
John Primer
John Primer is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist.-Biography:He played guitar at Theresa's, a club in Chicago, between 1974 and 1980. He was influenced by Muddy Waters' former sideman, Sammy Lawhorn, who taught him to play slide guitar...
and Malik Yusef.
Biography
Coleman was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He began his musical career at a young age, playing alongside his father, Cleother "Baldhead Pete" Williams. As a teenager he played with the Top 40 showband, Midnight Sun, and played the blues with Aron Burton
Aron Burton
Aron Burton is an American electric and Chicago blues singer, bass guitarist and songwriter. In a long career as a sideman he has played with Freddie King, Albert Collins and Junior Wells, and has released a number of solo albums, including Good Blues to You...
and Johnny Dollar in Chicago's North Side
Neighborhoods in Chicago
Cartographers distinguish between over 200 neighborhoods and 77 community areas in the City of Chicago . A semi-official by the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development was created in the 1970s by researchers who went from door-to-door in Chicago, asking "What neighborhood is this?"...
. In 1975 he became a full-time professional musician, and toured Europe with Eddy Clearwater
Eddy Clearwater
Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater is the stage name of Edward Harrington ,) an American Chicago blues musician. Blues Revue said Eddy plays “joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. One of the blues’ finest songwriters.” -Early life:He was born in Macon, Mississippi,...
four years later. This led him directly to work for James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
, and Coleman remained in his band for a period of almost ten years. Coleman backed Cotton on his Alligator Records
Alligator Records
Alligator 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...
album, Live From Chicago Mr Superharp Himself, and in total completed three albums with Cotton.
During the 1980s, Coleman backed Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, Buster Benton
Buster Benton
Buster Benton was an American blues guitarist and singer, who played guitar in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars, and is best known for his solo rendition of the Dixon-penned song "Spider in My Stew." He was tenacious and in the latter part of his lengthy career, despite the amputation of parts of...
, and Jimmy Dawkins
Jimmy Dawkins
James Henry "Jimmy" Dawkins is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered a part of the "West Side Sound" of Chicago blues.-Career:...
, and also worked with Syl Johnson
Syl Johnson
Syl Johnson is an American blues and soul singer and record producer.-Biography:Born Sylvester Thompson in Holly Springs, Mississippi, United States, Johnson sang and played with blues artists Magic Sam, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf in the 1950s, before recording with Jimmy Reed...
, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s. His work was not without controversy, as in his 1987 song, "Woman Loves a Woman", he confessed he was in love with a woman, but then stated "She's in love with a woman too". Coleman formed the Backbreakers as his backing ensemble in 1991. The European record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Wolf Records, issued Coleman's Shake Your Booty in 1995.
His debut US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
release was Do Your Thing!, issued by Delmark Records
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
in 2000. It featured a mixture of material encompassing blues, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, with cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of songs previously recorded by Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
, Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
and Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
. It was noted that the quality of his guitar playing, compensated for a lightweight vocal accompaniment.
In 2006, Coleman led a string of Delmark rostered musicians on the Blues Brunch at the Mart album.
However a combination of his weight and diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
severely affected his health, and his doctor advised a new lifestyle which saw Coleman lose 150 pounds. On the 2010 Chicago Blues Tour, Coleman performed at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.
Albums
| Year | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Shake Your Booty | Wolf Records |
| 2000 | Do Your Thing! | Delmark Records Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in... |
| 2002 | Chicago Blues Festival 1991 | Disques Black & Blue |
| 2006 | Blues Brunch at the Mart | Delmark Records |
| 2008 | Harmony Mill | Minefield Records |
Selected work with other musicians
- 1984: High Compression - James CottonJames CottonJames Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
- Arranger, guitar - 1986: Live from Chicago Mr. Superharp Himself - James Cotton - Arranger, bandleader, guitar
- 1990: Harp Attack! - James Cotton - Guitar
- 1991: Poor Man Blues - John Primer - Guitar
- 2003: The Great Chicago Fire - A Cold Day in Hell - Malik Yusef - Guitar
- 2005: "Wouldn't You Like to Ride" - Malik Yusef - Guitar