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He Had Little Exposure To Live Music, But His Family Did Have A Radio, And In Between The Pop Hits Of The Day And Some Country Music That Ruled The Airwaves Of The 1950′s, The Radio Would Sometimes Be Well Placed To Capture The Mythical RB Programming Of 1510 / WLAC From Nashville.
With two fresh CD releases “Red Dog Speaks” and “Elvin Bishop’s Raisin’ Hell Revue,” as well as a Grammy nomination for his 2008 disk “The Blues Rolls On,” Elvin Bishop, who turned 69 years-old in October, has absolutely revitalized his career, a job that began in the early 1960′s and is going robust more than five decades later on.
Born in Glendale, California, Elvin grew up on an Iowa farm. When he was ten his family moved to Tulsa. He had tiny exposure to live music, but his family did have a radio, and between the pop hits of the day and some country music that ruled the airwaves of the 1950′s, the radio would sometimes be well placed to capture the legendary RB programming of 1510 / WLAC from Nashville. The station introduced Elvin to the classic records of Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters and so many others, and once his ears had been hooked, there wasn’t any turning back. He soon got his first guitar and on his very own started scratching out the basic outlines of the blues, RB and rock & roll that had captured his imagination.
He attended Will Rogers School in Tulsa, winning a full scholarship to the College of Chicago us a Countrywide Merit Scholar finalist. On graduation, he moved to Chicago to attend college where he specialized in physics. The School of Chicago was found on the city’s South side, ground nil for much of the urban blues Elvin has been studying from a distance. In 1963 he met harmonica player Paul Butterfield and joined Butterfield’s band, remaining for five years. The band’s third album, “The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw,” takes its name from Bishop’s nickname. His long time publishing company is called Crabshaw Music.
In 1968 Elvin left the Butterfield Blues Band and formed the Elvin Bishop Group, signing with Bill Graham’s Fillmore Records. He played on the album “The Live Journeys of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper,” and recorded 3 albums for the Fillmore label. In 1971 his band and the Allman Siblings Band played a sequence of concerts at the Fillmore East in NY, when the Allman’s recorded their legendary live album, “At Fillmore East.” Elvin joined the Allmans onstage for a rendition of his very own song, “Drunken Hearted Boy” during each show. Over time, Elvin has recorded with several other blues artists including Clifton Chenier, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley and B.B. King.
Elvin signed with Capricorn Records in 1974 and The Elvin Bishop Band released six albums, gathering massive airplay on the album-oriented rock radio stations of the day. In 1976, the band released the single, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which sold one million copies and topped at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. The song was written by Elvin but sung by Mickey Thomas, the band’s lead vocalist. The record was so large, the group even made an appearance on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.” Signing with Capricorn, the band was instantly lumped into the Southern Rock genus and toured consistently with the Allmans, the Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the rest.
With the passing of Capricorn in 1980, Elvin was left looking out for a new label home, and returned to his blues roots of his Chicago days and started playing more bare bones, gut bucket blues.
“I went through a dry spell on the recording side, but I usually kept a good band,” Elvin said by telephone this week from his home in Lagunitas.
He found a pro home in 2008 when he recorded “The Blues Rolls On” for Delta Groove Music, a label based in Southern California. That release received his Grammy nomination, and Elvin attended the awards rite in L. A. “Pinetop Perkins was also designated in that category,” Elvin remembers, “and since we were staying at the same hotel, we decided to go to the awards show in a limousine. On the way to the show, Pinetop decides he needs a burger, so we whip into the closest McDonalds, and he gets out and comes back with a bag of burgers. It was a great night.”
However , neither of them won the award. “It went to one of the usual suspects,” Elvin expounded, “Either B.B. Or Buddy Guy, I can not remember, but we still had a good time.”
The Mythical Blues Cruises are an entertaining course of action, according to Elvin. “You are on the boat for one week and all that you need to do is 3 shows, and it is such a good way to get to know other musicians,” he asserts. “On the road, you are just passing one or two hours at a gig or on the road, but on the boat, you get to hang together for one week, and it actually is a whole lot of fun.”
His disk from the Blues Cruise, “Elvin Bishop’s Raisin’ Hell Revue” includes some Bishop classics like “Callin’ All Cows,” “The Night Time Is The Right Time,” “What The Hell Is Goin’ On,” “Rock My Soul,” “It Hurts Me Too” and his big hit, “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.”
Those songs and more will be performed on Sat. night at the Uptown Theatre in Napa. Tickets are $35 and you can be sure Elvin Bishop and his crack band will definitely rock your soul, writes tagza.com.