Koerner, Ray & Glover
Encyclopedia
Koerner, Ray & Glover is the name of a blues
band from Minneapolis, Minnesota
. The band featured Tony "Little Sun" Glover on harmonica, "Spider" John Koerner on guitar and vocals, and Dave "Snaker" Ray on guitar and vocals. Koerner, Ray & Glover were part of the early folk/blues explosion in the 1960s.
. Their common musical interest in folk and blues led them to record and perform in various configurations, doing solo turns and duets, but less as a trio together. This led Ray to suggest it would be more accurate to refer to them as "Koerner and/or Ray and/or Glover". Their breakthrough album, Blues, Rags and Hollers was released in 1963. They recorded two further albums for Elektra, but continued their ventures into solo albums supporting each other in both recording and touring. Glover wrote one of the very first instructional books on how to play blues harmonica.
The trio appeared at the Newport Folk Festival
and their performance was recorded for the Vanguard Records album Newport Folk Festival 1964: Evening Concerts III and filmed for the documentary Festival in 1967.
They played frequently in Dinkytown, where they met Bob Dylan
on his first visit to the Ten O'Clock Scholar club, influencing him and others such as Bonnie Raitt
. In the late '60s they played at the Triangle Bar on the West Bank, which served as a Counter Culture venue during the Vietnam War.
They would occasionally do reunion concerts until Ray's death in November 2002. Koerner and Glover continue to occasionally perform together.
named Koerner, Ray and Glover "Best Folk Group" and in 1985 inducted them into the MMA Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Koerner, Ray & Glover were inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame under the category Blues Recordings for Blues, Rags and Hollers.
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...
band from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The band featured Tony "Little Sun" Glover on harmonica, "Spider" John Koerner on guitar and vocals, and Dave "Snaker" Ray on guitar and vocals. Koerner, Ray & Glover were part of the early folk/blues explosion in the 1960s.
History
Koerner, Ray & Glover met as students at the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Their common musical interest in folk and blues led them to record and perform in various configurations, doing solo turns and duets, but less as a trio together. This led Ray to suggest it would be more accurate to refer to them as "Koerner and/or Ray and/or Glover". Their breakthrough album, Blues, Rags and Hollers was released in 1963. They recorded two further albums for Elektra, but continued their ventures into solo albums supporting each other in both recording and touring. Glover wrote one of the very first instructional books on how to play blues harmonica.
The trio appeared 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...
and their performance was recorded for the Vanguard Records album Newport Folk Festival 1964: Evening Concerts III and filmed for the documentary Festival in 1967.
They played frequently in Dinkytown, where they met Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
on his first visit to the Ten O'Clock Scholar club, influencing him and others such as 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...
. In the late '60s they played at the Triangle Bar on the West Bank, which served as a Counter Culture venue during the Vietnam War.
They would occasionally do reunion concerts until Ray's death in November 2002. Koerner and Glover continue to occasionally perform together.
Awards
In 1983 The Minnesota Music AcademyMinnesota Music Academy
The Minnesota Music Academy is a music institution in Minnesota. The Academy promotes the Minnesota Music Awards, which it gives out, and also operates a music festival called The Icebreaker....
named Koerner, Ray and Glover "Best Folk Group" and in 1985 inducted them into the MMA Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Koerner, Ray & Glover were inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame under the category Blues Recordings for Blues, Rags and Hollers.
Discography
- 1963: Blues, Rags and HollersBlues, Rags and HollersBlues, Rags and Hollers is the debut album by American country blues trio Koerner, Ray & Glover, released in 1963.- History :The debut album of the country blues trio from Minneapolis, Minnesota featured Tony "Little Sun" Glover on harmonica, "Spider" John Koerner on guitar and vocals, and Dave...
- 1964: Lots More Blues, Rags and HollersLots More Blues, Rags and HollersLots More Blues, Rags and Hollers is an album by the blues trio Koerner, Ray & Glover, released in 1964.-History:Between this release and their next, Dave Ray and John Koerner would each record a solo album, Snaker's Here and Spider Blues respectively...
- 1965: The Return of Koerner, Ray & GloverThe Return of Koerner, Ray & GloverThe Return of Koerner, Ray and Glover is an album by Koerner, Ray & Glover, released in 1965. It was their last recording for Elektra and it would be seven years before the trio's next release....
- 1972: Good Old Koerner, Ray & GloverGood Old Koerner, Ray & GloverGood Old Koerner, Ray & Glover is an album by Koerner, Ray & Glover, released in 1972.- History :The recordings on Good Old Koerner, Ray & Glover are live recordings taken from the trio's performances at the St. Olaf College folk festivals in 1963 and 1964. It would be 24 years before the trio's...
- 1996: One Foot in the GrooveOne Foot in the GrooveOne Foot in the Groove is an album by Koerner, Ray & Glover, released in 1996. It was the last release by the trio.-Reception:-Track listing:# "Black Jack Davy" – 2:53# "Shout Sister Shout" – 3:19...