Chicago Bob Nelson
Encyclopedia
"Chicago" Bob Nelson is an American
blues
musician
from Bogalusa, Louisiana
.
Chicago Bob Nelson is a harmonica
player and singer who is known for amalgamating Louisiana and Chicago blues styles. He is singular in being mentored by traditional rural southern blues harmonica practitioners and melding their approach with urban Chicago playing, thus creating his own distinctive sound.
His family was a musical family. Bob's father, Versie Nelson, played upright bass and harmonica. From a very early age Bob accompanied Versie to house parties, backyard barbecues and Saturday night fish fries around Bogalusa where cajun
music, zydeco
and blues
were performed. Bob Nelson recalled, "It was just people eating, jamming and having a good time!" Nelson began playing the harmonica at age 8. As a youngster he was encouraged and instructed by Versie's musical cohorts, Louisiana blues legends (and Excello recording artists) Slim Harpo
(James Moore) and Lazy Lester
(Leslie Johnson). Nelson credited Harpo, Lester, Sonny Boy Williamson II
(Aleck Miller) and Jimmy Reed
(all of whom he knew) as his primary influences, as well as Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson
whose recordings he studied. Through listening to these artists, Nelson learned to use his instrument as a "second voice" to interpret and elucidate the emotion and themes of a song. Trips to Chicago to visit family were a major part of Nelson's childhood.
By the early 1960s he had taken up residence in Chicago. There he met and performed with Howlin' Wolf
, Buddy Guy
, Junior Wells
, Earl Hooker
and Muddy Waters
. The latter, having run into Nelson at nearly every blues venue in Chicago, bestowed upon him the moniker that continues to identify him today. Nelson would later perform with Muddy Waters at the Newport Folk Festival
. Throughout his career Nelson has toured extensively with Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson, Tinsley Ellis
and John Lee Hooker
. Now residing in Atlanta Georgia, Chicago Bob Nelson continues to tour and record internationally.
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...
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....
from Bogalusa, Louisiana
Bogalusa, Louisiana
Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,365 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa...
.
Chicago Bob Nelson is a harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player and singer who is known for amalgamating Louisiana and Chicago blues styles. He is singular in being mentored by traditional rural southern blues harmonica practitioners and melding their approach with urban Chicago playing, thus creating his own distinctive sound.
His family was a musical family. Bob's father, Versie Nelson, played upright bass and harmonica. From a very early age Bob accompanied Versie to house parties, backyard barbecues and Saturday night fish fries around Bogalusa where cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
music, zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
and 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...
were performed. Bob Nelson recalled, "It was just people eating, jamming and having a good time!" Nelson began playing the harmonica at age 8. As a youngster he was encouraged and instructed by Versie's musical cohorts, Louisiana blues legends (and Excello recording artists) Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo was an American blues musician. He was known as a master of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was derived from "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles.-Early life:...
(James Moore) and Lazy Lester
Lazy Lester
Lazy Lester is an American blues harmonica player, whose career spans the 1950s to the 2000s....
(Leslie Johnson). Nelson credited Harpo, Lester, Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
(Aleck Miller) and 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...
(all of whom he knew) as his primary influences, as well as Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.-Biography and career:...
whose recordings he studied. Through listening to these artists, Nelson learned to use his instrument as a "second voice" to interpret and elucidate the emotion and themes of a song. Trips to Chicago to visit family were a major part of Nelson's childhood.
By the early 1960s he had taken up residence in Chicago. There he met and performed with Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, Earl Hooker
Earl Hooker
Earl Hooker was an American Chicago blues guitarist, perhaps best known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", Hooker performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and John Lee Hooker as well as fronting his own bands...
and Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
. The latter, having run into Nelson at nearly every blues venue in Chicago, bestowed upon him the moniker that continues to identify him today. Nelson would later perform with Muddy Waters at the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
. Throughout his career Nelson has toured extensively with Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson, Tinsley Ellis
Tinsley Ellis
Tinsley Ellis is an American blues and rock musician, who grew up in southern Florida.-Biography:...
and John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
. Now residing in Atlanta Georgia, Chicago Bob Nelson continues to tour and record internationally.
Discography
- The Heart Fixers - (with Tinsley EllisTinsley EllisTinsley Ellis is an American blues and rock musician, who grew up in southern Florida.-Biography:...
and the Heart Fixers) Southland Records; - Live At The Moonshadow - (with Tinsley Ellis and the Heart Fixers) Landslide Records;
- Just Your Fool - Highwater Records;
- Comin' Back Strong - Erwin Music;
- Hit and Run Lover - King Snake Records;
- Back to Bogalusa - King Snake Records;
- Keep What I Got - Planisphare
- Flyin' Too High - 95 North Records
See also
- Tinsley EllisTinsley EllisTinsley Ellis is an American blues and rock musician, who grew up in southern Florida.-Biography:...
- "In 1981 he formed The Heartfixers, with the singer and harmonica player Chicago Bob Nelson." - Bob PageBob Page (blues musician)Bob Page is an American blues, stride and boogie-woogie piano player.Originally from Damariscotta, Maine, Page moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1980s, and continued a career of recording and live performance in the southeast United States, as well as elsewhere in the US and Europe.In...
- "Chicago Bob Nelson - "Just Your Fool" / "High Water" - HighTone"