Joe Bonamassa
Encyclopedia
Joe Bonamassa is an American
blues rock guitarist
and singer.
, United States
. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician. With a great-grandfather and grandfather who both played trumpet, and a father who plays guitar, Bonamassa credits his parents with fostering an appreciation of music in his life as early as he can remember. When he was a young child, he would listen to his parents' large record collection. He recalls at age 7, sitting with his parents on Saturdays and listening to Guitar Slim
; Bonnie Raitt
; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Eric Clapton
; and Jethro Tull
. Thus, he sees his music as an amalgam of all the various rock and blues he heard as a child.
He received his first guitar from his father at the age of 4, and by age 7 he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan
and Jimi Hendrix
tunes note for note. At the age of 11, during a short period of being mentor
ed by Danny Gatton
, he learned such styles as country
and jazz
as well as Polka
. During this time with Gatton, Bonamassa sat in with Gatton's band whenever they played in New York
. He first opened for B. B. King
at 12 years of age. At 14, he was invited to attend a Fender guitar event; during that trip to the West Coast
he met Berry Oakley, Jr. Bonamassa and Berry founded the group Bloodline
with Miles Davis
's son Erin and Robby Krieger
's son Waylon. They released one album which produced two chart singles — "Stone Cold Hearted", and "Dixie Peach." He has since played with Buddy Guy
, Foreigner
, Robert Cray
, Stephen Stills
, Joe Cocker
, Gregg Allman
, Steve Winwood
, Paul Jones
, Ted Nugent
, Warren Haynes
, Eric Clapton
, Derek Trucks
, and Jack Bruce
.
, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters
, and all the traditional American blues players, (with the exception of B.B. King), comparing the music in the United States to the "European" versions of the blues, Bonamassa found the English blues, fostered by the Jeff Beck Group, Eric Clapton
, and the Irish blues player Rory Gallagher
to be far more interesting to him than the original Delta blues
players. In an interview in Guitarist
magazine (issue 265), he cited the three albums that had the biggest influence on his playing: John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
with Eric Clapton
(the Beano album), Rory Gallagher
's Irish Tour
and Goodbye by Cream
. He also stated that Stevie Ray Vaughan
's Texas Flood
was a big influence at a young age.
He elaborated further on his influences in his interview:
And in his October 2008 interview with Express & Star:
These influences are evident in his music, but Bonamassa has been influenced by other artists; notable examples include B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Danny Gatton
, Eric Johnson
, Albert Collins
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
and Buddy Guy
. Bonamassa's style of playing incorporates rock
, blues-rock
, Delta blues
, electric blues
, jazz
, country - and even prog rock
as evidenced by Yes
's "Heart of the Sunrise
" and the "Würm" section of "Starship Trooper
" being regular features of live performances.
, named after the 1969 Jethro Tull classic that Bonamassa makes his own with what allmusic.com called “a jaw-dropping performance”. Produced by the late, legendary Tom Dowd
, the album featured guest shots by Gregg Allman
, Rick Derringer
and Leslie West
. "Miss You, Hate You" remains a cornerstone of Bonamassa's repertoire, as does "Cradle Rock". Bonamassa followed it up in 2002 with "So, It's Like That
", which included "Pain And Sorrow". The album was his first to hit #1 on Billboards Blues Chart.
In 2003 – designated “Year Of The Blues” by Congress – Bonamassa returned with Blues Deluxe. In the liner notes, Harris Cohen observed that Bonamassa, "never loses touch with the raw emotion that makes the blues what it is." Reviewing "Blues Deluxe", former Creem
editor Jaan Uhelszki added, "New York guitar phenom walks tall in the blues tradition…jettisoning fiery riffs inspired by John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Elmore James, and Albert Collins into the future with furious playing, a hard-rock sensibility, and a grizzled voice that owes a debt to Gregg Allman. Equally inspired by the Delta blues and the mid-'60s British blues boom, the young firebrand … is able to fuse those two schools together, creating edgy blues rock." Had To Cry Today followed in 2004.
In 2006, Bonamassa released his fifth full-length studio album, You & Me
. This album also reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. For the recording of this album, he enlisted Jason Bonham
, whilst "Your Funeral And My Trial", featured harmonica player L.D. Miller, and the bassist Carmine Rojas
. The title of the album was taken from the Django Reinhardt
song "Vous et Moi" (1942). The violin introduction of that song was played by Reinhardt and inspired Bonamassa to write "Django", the seventh track on the album. Longer live versions would later appear on Live From Nowhere in Particular
in 2009, and at the Royal Albert Hall Concert (Live DVD).
Sloe Gin
was released in August 2007, and spent several weeks at the top of the Billboard Blues Chart. Bonamassa's touring band underwent another change for this album's tour; bassist Carmine Rojas replaced Mark Epstein, and keyboardist Rick Melick was added. Both of the new band members took part in the recordings of You & Me and Sloe Gin, and toured on select dates during promotion of You & Me.
Bonamassa presented his first live show as a DJ on the UK radio station Planet Rock on November 9, 2008, playing tracks from B.B. King, Muddy Waters
, Rory Gallagher
and Eric Clapton
.
In November 2008, Bonamassa announced he would be playing at the Royal Albert Hall
in London on May 4, 2009. Tickets for the concert sold out in less than a week. Bonamassa described the event to the Express & Star
as "the complete culmination of 20 years of work for me."
At the Royal Albert Hall concert, 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. Later Bonamassa paid tribute to the Paul Jones Radio Hour on BBC Radio
for playing his material on the air, then introduced Paul Jones
who played the harmonica on a Sonny Boy Williamson song, "Your Funeral, My Trial."
In March 2010, Bonamassa released his tenth full-length solo album Black Rock which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and #38 on the Billboard 200
.
In May 2010, Ian Anderson
guested at his concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo, and they played "A New Day Yesterday" along with "Locomotive Breath
".
The Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham
, Derek Sherinian
supergroup
is now called Black Country Communion
. The band were forced to add 'Communion' to their original name Black Country after another band with the same name raised an objection.
In March 2011, Bonamassa released his eleventh full-length solo album, Dust Bowl
.
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.
Bonamassa's performance with pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph, Randolph's Family Band and Pino Daniele
at the 2010 edition of Crossroads Guitar Festival
appears on the Crossroads 2010 DVD. The song they played is Going Down.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues rock guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer.
Early life
Bonamassa was born and raised in New HartfordNew Hartford (town), New York
.New Hartford is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 21,172. The name of New Hartford was provided by a settler family from Hartford, Connecticut....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician. With a great-grandfather and grandfather who both played trumpet, and a father who plays guitar, Bonamassa credits his parents with fostering an appreciation of music in his life as early as he can remember. When he was a young child, he would listen to his parents' large record collection. He recalls at age 7, sitting with his parents on Saturdays and listening to Guitar Slim
Guitar Slim
Eddie Jones , better known as Guitar Slim, was a New Orleans blues guitarist, from the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song, produced by Johnny Vincent at Specialty Records, "The Things That I Used to Do"...
; Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
; and Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
. Thus, he sees his music as an amalgam of all the various rock and blues he heard as a child.
He received his first guitar from his father at the age of 4, and by age 7 he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
tunes note for note. At the age of 11, during a short period of being mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
ed by Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. 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 country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
as well as Polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
. During this time with Gatton, Bonamassa sat in with Gatton's band whenever they played in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He first opened for B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
at 12 years of age. At 14, he was invited to attend a Fender guitar event; during that trip to the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
he met Berry Oakley, Jr. Bonamassa and Berry founded the group Bloodline
Bloodline (band)
Bloodline was an American blues rock band composed of the sons of several well-known rock musicians. It was also guitarist Joe Bonamassa's first band ....
with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
's son Erin and Robby Krieger
Robby Krieger
Robert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock 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."...
's son Waylon. They released one album which produced two chart singles — "Stone Cold Hearted", and "Dixie Peach." He has since played with 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...
, Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
, Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen 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 Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, 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 Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
, Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
, Paul Jones
Paul Jones (singer)
Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:As P. P...
, Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...
, Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes is an American rock and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Haynes is best known for his work as long time guitarist with The Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was a guitarist for David Allan Coe and The Dickey...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is a Grammy Award-winning, American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He founded The Derek Trucks Band and worked as a session musician when he was still in his early teens. Throughout those teenage years, he toured with The Allman Brothers Band primarily as a slide...
, and Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
.
Influences
Unlike other successful blues-rock guitarists, Bonamassa cited his influences as being British and Irish blues acts, rather than American artists. Within the blues genre, hearing the traditional blues players, as with Guitar SlimGuitar Slim
Eddie Jones , better known as Guitar Slim, was a New Orleans blues guitarist, from the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song, produced by Johnny Vincent at Specialty Records, "The Things That I Used to Do"...
, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, and all the traditional American blues players, (with the exception of B.B. King), comparing the music in the United States to the "European" versions of the blues, Bonamassa found the English blues, fostered by the Jeff Beck Group, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, and the Irish blues player Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
to be far more interesting to him than the original Delta blues
Delta blues
The 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, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
players. In an interview in Guitarist
Guitarist (magazine)
Guitarist 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 Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John 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 1967, but then dropped it for some fifteen years. However, in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and...
with Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
(the Beano album), Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
's Irish Tour
Irish Tour
Irish Tour '74 is a blues 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. "Back on My Stompin' Ground " was taken from a jam session during the tour...
and Goodbye by Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
. He also stated that Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
's Texas Flood
Texas Flood
Texas Flood was released on June 13, 1983, with two singles released from the album—"Pride and Joy" and "Love Struck Baby". "Pride and Joy" peaked at #20 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Texas Flood" was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Performance and "Rude Mood" was nominated for Best...
was a big influence at a young age.
He elaborated further on his influences in his interview:
And in his October 2008 interview with Express & Star:
These influences are evident in his music, but Bonamassa has been influenced by other artists; notable examples include B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
, Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
, Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
and 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...
. Bonamassa's style of playing incorporates rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues 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, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
, Delta blues
Delta blues
The 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, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
, electric blues
Electric blues
Electric 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
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, country - and even prog rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
as evidenced by Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
's "Heart of the Sunrise
Heart of the Sunrise
"Heart of the Sunrise" is a progressive rock song by British band Yes. It is the closing track on their fourth album, 1971'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 the "Würm" section of "Starship Trooper
Starship Trooper (song)
"Starship Trooper" is the third track and closing of Side A of progressive rock group Yes's 1971 album, The Yes Album. It is presented in three parts: "Life Seeker", "Disillusion" and "Würm" and is credited to Anderson/Squire/Howe sequentially....
" being regular features of live performances.
Solo career
Bonamassa's solo début, in 2000, was his Top 10 Blues disc A New Day YesterdayA New Day Yesterday (Joe Bonamassa album)
A New Day Yesterday is Joe Bonamassa's debut album released October 24, 2000, named for the 1969 Jethro Tull hit.It was recorded at Pyramid Recording Studios, Ithaca, New York and produced by Tom Dowd.-Track listing:...
, named after the 1969 Jethro Tull classic that Bonamassa makes his own with what allmusic.com called “a jaw-dropping performance”. Produced by the late, legendary Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom 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...
, the album featured guest shots by Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
, Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.-1960s:When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys recorded "Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song in America before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was...
and Leslie West
Leslie West
Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...
. "Miss You, Hate You" remains a cornerstone of Bonamassa's repertoire, as does "Cradle Rock". Bonamassa followed it up in 2002 with "So, It's Like That
So, It's Like That
So, It's Like That is Joe Bonamassa's second solo studio album, released August 13, 2002.Personnel includes: Joe Bonamassa ; Kenny Kramme ; Eric Czar -Track listing:#"My Mistake", 4:53...
", which included "Pain And Sorrow". The album was his first to hit #1 on Billboards Blues Chart.
In 2003 – designated “Year Of The Blues” by Congress – Bonamassa returned with Blues Deluxe. In the liner notes, Harris Cohen observed that Bonamassa, "never loses touch with the raw emotion that makes the blues what it is." Reviewing "Blues Deluxe", former Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
editor Jaan Uhelszki added, "New York guitar phenom walks tall in the blues tradition…jettisoning fiery riffs inspired by John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Elmore James, and Albert Collins into the future with furious playing, a hard-rock sensibility, and a grizzled voice that owes a debt to Gregg Allman. Equally inspired by the Delta blues and the mid-'60s British blues boom, the young firebrand … is able to fuse those two schools together, creating edgy blues rock." Had To Cry Today followed in 2004.
In 2006, Bonamassa released his fifth full-length studio album, You & Me
You & Me (Joe Bonamassa album)
You & Me is the sixth studio album by American blues-rock musician Joe Bonamassa. It was released in 2006 and produced by Kevin Shirley. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Blues Albums charts, and remained on the charts for 54 weeks....
. This album also reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. For the recording of this album, he enlisted Jason Bonham
Jason Bonham
Jason John Bonham is an English drummer. Jason's parents are Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and his wife Pat Phillips. After his father's death in 1980, he has played with Led Zeppelin on different occasions, including the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London in...
, whilst "Your Funeral And My Trial", featured harmonica player L.D. Miller, and the bassist Carmine Rojas
Carmine Rojas
Carmine Rojas, Bassist, Musical Director, Composer & Producer born February 14, 1953, Brooklyn, NY.With the efforts and support of his family, friends and professional relationships, Carmine has traveled the World earning the reputation as one of the most renowned and respected bass players in the...
. The title of the album was taken from the Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
song "Vous et Moi" (1942). The violin introduction of that song was played by Reinhardt and inspired Bonamassa to write "Django", the seventh track on the album. Longer live versions would later appear on Live From Nowhere in Particular
Live From Nowhere in Particular (album)
Live From Nowhere in Particular is a double CD Live set released by Joe Bonamassa in 2008 on the label J&R Adventures as PRAR65328. In 2008 the album peaked at #1 on the Top Blues Albums chart.-Track listing:CD 1...
in 2009, and at the Royal Albert Hall Concert (Live DVD).
Sloe Gin
Sloe Gin (album)
Sloe Gin is Joe Bonamassa's seventh studio album. It was released in 2007 and was the second Bonamassa album produced by Kevin Shirley.-Track listing:#"Ball Peen Hammer", 3:27#"One of These Days", 5:40...
was released in August 2007, and spent several weeks at the top of the Billboard Blues Chart. Bonamassa's touring band underwent another change for this album's tour; bassist Carmine Rojas replaced Mark Epstein, and keyboardist Rick Melick was added. Both of the new band members took part in the recordings of You & Me and Sloe Gin, and toured on select dates during promotion of You & Me.
Bonamassa presented his first live show as a DJ on the UK radio station Planet Rock on November 9, 2008, playing tracks from B.B. King, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
.
In November 2008, Bonamassa announced he would be playing at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in 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 & Star
Express & Star
The Express & Star is an evening newspaper based in Wolverhampton, England, published Monday to Saturday in nine different editions covering the Black Country, Birmingham and the wider West Midlands area from Tamworth to Kidderminster. It as widely perceived as being moderately right-wing...
as "the complete culmination of 20 years of work for me."
At the Royal Albert Hall concert, Bonamassa stated that the first song that he learned to play was "Further on Up the Road" and he then introduced Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and together they performed the song. Later Bonamassa paid tribute to the Paul Jones Radio Hour on BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
for playing his material on the air, then introduced Paul Jones
Paul Jones (singer)
Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:As P. P...
who played the harmonica on a Sonny Boy Williamson song, "Your Funeral, My Trial."
In March 2010, Bonamassa released his tenth full-length solo album Black Rock which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and #38 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
In May 2010, Ian Anderson
Ian Anderson (musician)
Ian Scott Anderson, MBE is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work as the leader and flautist of British rock band Jethro Tull.-Early life:...
guested at his concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo, and they played "A New Day Yesterday" along with "Locomotive Breath
Locomotive Breath
"Locomotive Breath" is a song by the English progressive rock band Jethro Tull from their 1971 album, Aqualung. It is notable for a long bluesy piano introduction and its flute solo by rock flute virtuoso Ian Anderson...
".
The Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham
Jason Bonham
Jason John Bonham is an English drummer. Jason's parents are Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and his wife Pat Phillips. After his father's death in 1980, he has played with Led Zeppelin on different occasions, including the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London in...
, Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
is now called Black Country Communion
Black Country Communion
Black Country Communion is an English-American rock supergroup featuring Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, Derek Sherinian, and Joe Bonamassa.-Formation and Black Country :...
. The band were forced to add 'Communion' to their original name Black Country after another band with the same name raised an objection.
In March 2011, Bonamassa released his eleventh full-length solo album, Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl (album)
Dust Bowl is a studio album by blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. It was released worldwide on March 22, 2011.- Track listing :# Slow Train - 6:49# Dust Bowl - 4:33# Tennessee Plates ft...
.
Solo
- A New Day YesterdayA New Day Yesterday (Joe Bonamassa album)A New Day Yesterday is Joe Bonamassa's debut album released October 24, 2000, named for the 1969 Jethro Tull hit.It was recorded at Pyramid Recording Studios, Ithaca, New York and produced by Tom Dowd.-Track listing:...
(2000) - Live At Fort Wayne, Indiana (2001)
- So, It's Like ThatSo, It's Like ThatSo, It's Like That is Joe Bonamassa's second solo studio album, released August 13, 2002.Personnel includes: Joe Bonamassa ; Kenny Kramme ; Eric Czar -Track listing:#"My Mistake", 4:53...
(2002) - A New Day Yesterday, Live (2002)
- Blues Deluxe (2003)
- Had to Cry Today (2004)
- Live At Rockplast (2006)
- You & MeYou & Me (Joe Bonamassa album)You & Me is the sixth studio album by American blues-rock musician Joe Bonamassa. It was released in 2006 and produced by Kevin Shirley. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Blues Albums charts, and remained on the charts for 54 weeks....
(2006) - Imac Theatre, Huntington, NY (2007)
- Shepherds Bush EmpireShepherds Bush EmpireThe O2 Shepherds Bush Empire is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, run by the Academy Music Group. It was built in 1903, as a music hall, and in 1953 became the BBC Television Theatre...
(2007) - Sloe GinSloe Gin (album)Sloe Gin is Joe Bonamassa's seventh studio album. It was released in 2007 and was the second Bonamassa album produced by Kevin Shirley.-Track listing:#"Ball Peen Hammer", 3:27#"One of These Days", 5:40...
(2007) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#50 - Live From Nowhere in ParticularLive From Nowhere in Particular (album)Live From Nowhere in Particular is a double CD Live set released by Joe Bonamassa in 2008 on the label J&R Adventures as PRAR65328. In 2008 the album peaked at #1 on the Top Blues Albums chart.-Track listing:CD 1...
(2008) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#45 - The Ballad of John HenryThe Ballad of John HenryThe Ballad of John Henry is a 2009 studio album by blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa. It, and the title track, is named after the American folk hero John Henry.-Tracklist:...
(2009) US #103, UK #26 - Joe Bonamassa - Live from the Royal Albert Hall (2009)
- Live At The B.B.C. (2010)
- Black Rock (2010) US #39, UK #14, GER: #22
- Dust BowlDust Bowl (album)Dust Bowl is a studio album by blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa. It was released worldwide on March 22, 2011.- Track listing :# Slow Train - 6:49# Dust Bowl - 4:33# Tennessee Plates ft...
(2011) US #37, UK #12, GER: #10
with Black Country Communion
- Black CountryBlack Country (album)Black Country is the debut release by the English-American rock supergroup Black Country Communion. The album was released in Europe on 20 September 2010, and in the US one day later.-Overview:...
(2010) - 22 (Black Country Communion album)2 is the second studio album by the English-American rock band Black Country Communion. The album was released on June 13, 2011 in Europe, and in the United States one day later.-Overview:...
(2011)
Guest appearances
| Release | Artist | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner , is an American rock singer, known for his works with Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Deep Purple. From the late 1990s, he continued to perform in a large number of solo albums and other studio projects... |
Holy Man Holy Man (album) Holy Man is the 6th solo album of Joe Lynn Turner released in 2000. 'Freedoms Wings' was an outtake of Hurry Up And Wait and a reworked version was released on this album -Tracklisting:... |
"Honest Crime" "Wolves at the Door" "Angel" |
| 2003 | Joe Lynn Turner | JLT JLT -Track listing:# "In Cold Blood" – 4:18 # "Jump Start" – 3:29 # "Dirty Deal" – 4:09 # "Love Don't Live Here" – 5:35 # "Excess" – 5:30... |
"Jump Start" "Dirty Deal" "Excess" |
| 2006 | Walter Trout Walter Trout Walter Trout is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to relocate to Los Angeles where he became a sideman for Percy Mayfield and Deacon Jones... |
Full Circle | "Clouds On The Horizon" |
| 2009 | Carl Verheyen Band | Trading 8's | "Highway 27" |
| 2010/02/09 | Shannon Curfman Shannon Curfman Shannon Marie Curfman is an American blues-rock guitarist and singer. She came to prominence in 1999, at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, which she recorded a year earlier.Curfman has toured with John Mellencamp, Buddy Guy, George Thorogood and The... |
What You're Getting Into What You're Getting Into What You're Getting Into is Shannon Curfman's third full-length album.- Track listing :# "What You’re Getting Into" – 3:25# "Free Your Mind" – 3:04# "The Core" – 6:21# "Heaven Is In Your Mind" – 3:28# "All I Have" – 3:54# "Curious" – 3:36... |
"The Core" |
| 2010/05/17 | Sandi Thom Sandi Thom Alexandria "Sandi" Thom is a Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She became widely known in 2006 after a series of webcasts and the success of the single "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker ".-1984–2004: Early life:Thom was born in Banff, Aberdeenshire... |
Merchants and Thieves Merchants and Thieves Merchants and Thieves is the third studio album release by Scottish pop singer Sandi Thom, released on 17 May 2010. The album was released through Thom's own record label 'Guardian Angels' after being dropped by her former label Sony BMG.... |
"This Ol' World" |
| 2010 | Healing Sixes | Blue Jay | "Fine Time" |
| 2010 | Lee Ritenour Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has recorded over 42 albums, appeared on over 3000 sessions, and has charted over 30 instrumental and vocal contemporary jazz hits since 1976. One of his most popular songs was the smash hit, “Is It You” in 1981. Ritenour is considered to be a... |
Six String Theory | "Give Me One Good Reason" |
| 2011 | Henrik Freischlader Henrik Freischlader Henrik Freischlader is a German blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and autodidactic multi-instrumentalist from Wuppertal, Germany.... |
Still Frame Replay | "Still Frame Replay" |
| 2011 | Don Airey Don Airey Donald Airey has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, succeeding Jon Lord... |
All Out | "People in Your Head" |
| 2011/09/19 | Leslie West Leslie West Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West... |
Unusual Suspects | "Third Degree" |
DVDs
Live at the Rockpalast was released in 2005, and recorded at the Burg Satzvey in Mechernich, Germany.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.
Bonamassa's performance with pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph, Randolph's Family Band and Pino Daniele
Pino Daniele
Pino Daniele is an Italian vocalist, composer, and musician, whose influences cover a wide number of genres, fusing pop, blues, jazz, Italian and Middle eastern music into his own unique brand of world music.-Studio albums:...
at the 2010 edition of Crossroads Guitar Festival
Crossroads Guitar Festival
The Crossroads Guitar Festival is a music festival and benefit concert first held in 2004 and again in 2007 and 2010. The festivals benefit the Crossroads Centre founded by Eric Clapton, a drug treatment center located in Antigua. The concerts are also intended to be a showcase for a variety of...
appears on the Crossroads 2010 DVD. The song they played is Going Down.