Mark Selby (musician)
Encyclopedia
Mark Otis Selby is an American blues rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist
and producer
. He is a solo artist, signed to ZYX Records in Europe
, and one half of performing duo with his wife, songwriter Tia Sillers. He also plays guitar in recording sessions for musical artists such as Kenny Rogers
, Johnny Reid
, Keni Thomas
, Jimmy Hall
and Wynonna Judd
.
Selby is perhaps best known for the number of songs that he co-wrote with the blues-rock artist Kenny Wayne Shepherd
which includes the number one single "Blue on Black
". This song was also Billboard Magazine
rock track of the year in 1998. Selby also collaborated with Sillers on the number one song "There's Your Trouble
" which was recorded by the Dixie Chicks
and won the band their first Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
in 1999.
Selby has released four solo albums thus far. The first two projects, More Storms Comin and Dirt were on Vanguard Records
. After signing with ZYX in Merenberg
, Germany
, he released his third CD, "And The Horse You Rode In On". This CD, which is all acoustic, features Selby's 1974 Winfield
, Kansas
made, Mossman guitar
and spurred a broad audience in Germany and Switzerland. His most recent project, Nine Pound Hammer, was released in 2008. He has worked with the Grammy winning record producer Brent Maher on all of his projects.
Besides the Mossman, he plays a modified 1990s Fender Relic Nocaster, a Fender Rory Gallagher
Fender Stratocaster
, and a 1944 Gibson J-45
. As for amplifiers, he describes himself as "a Fender guy."
anthology that had a cross selection of songs he was well known for, and some spontaneous jams with Jimmy Page
and Muddy Waters
. There was so much emotion and a big slice of life in those songs performed by the old blues players . . . Billy Gibbons
was also a very big influence -- He had a great way of synthesizing a lot of great styles and making it his own.">
- One Night In Bonn (CD/DVD)
2008 Nine Pound Hammer
2006 Mark Otis Selby . . . And The Horse He Rode In On
2003 Dirt
2000 More Storms Comin
Compilation Albums
2007 Mark Selby's Nashville Picks! Vol.1
2001 Avalon Blues: A Tribute To The Music Of Mississippi John Hurt
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He is a solo artist, signed to ZYX Records in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and one half of performing duo with his wife, songwriter Tia Sillers. He also plays guitar in recording sessions for musical artists such as Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Johnny Reid
Johnny Reid
Johnny Reid is a country music artist who has charted several hit singles in Canada. Reid moved to Canada in July, 1988 when he was 13. His father, a diesel mechanic, wanted to give Reid and his brother opportunities he did not think they would have in Scotland...
, Keni Thomas
Keni Thomas
Keni Thomas is an American country music singer and former United States Army Ranger who served in The Battle of Mogadishu, portrayed in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down...
, Jimmy Hall
Jimmy Hall
Jimmy Hall was the lead singer and harmonica player for the Southern rock group, Wet Willie. He cofounded the band in 1970, which had significant success in the 1970s; in 1980 he scored a hit of his own with the single "I'm Happy that Love Has Found You"...
and Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Ellen Judd is an American country music singer. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the singular name Wynonna. Wynonna first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother, Naomi, in the country music duo The Judds...
.
Selby is perhaps best known for the number of songs that he co-wrote with the blues-rock artist Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced a rare level of commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician.-Biography:Shepherd graduated Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana...
which includes the number one single "Blue on Black
Blue on Black
"Blue on Black" is a song by American blues band Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band and is the lead single from their second studio album, Trouble Is.... Released on April 7, 1997, the track rose to #1 on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and remained there for 6 non-consecutive weeks...
". This song was also Billboard Magazine
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
rock track of the year in 1998. Selby also collaborated with Sillers on the number one song "There's Your Trouble
There's Your Trouble
"There's Your Trouble" is a song made famous by the country music band, the Dixie Chicks. Written by Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, the song was released in 1998 as the second track to the band's fourth album, Wide Open Spaces.-Awards:...
" which was recorded by the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
and won the band their first Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:*In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group...
in 1999.
Selby has released four solo albums thus far. The first two projects, More Storms Comin and Dirt were on Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
. After signing with ZYX in Merenberg
Merenberg
-Location:Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the Westerwald between the district seat of Limburg and Weilburg.-Neighbouring communities:Merenberg borders in the north on the community of Mengerskirchen, in the east on the community of Löhnberg, in the south on the town of Weilburg, in the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, he released his third CD, "And The Horse You Rode In On". This CD, which is all acoustic, features Selby's 1974 Winfield
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
made, Mossman guitar
Stuart Mossman
Stuart Mossman was an American guitar maker, entertainer and entrepreneur who built 6,000 guitars from 1968 to 1984 that were played by several professional guitarists, including John Denver, Eric Clapton, Albert Lee, Doc Watson, Hank Snow, Cat Stevens and Merle Travis...
and spurred a broad audience in Germany and Switzerland. His most recent project, Nine Pound Hammer, was released in 2008. He has worked with the Grammy winning record producer Brent Maher on all of his projects.
Besides the Mossman, he plays a modified 1990s Fender Relic Nocaster, a Fender 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...
Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
, and a 1944 Gibson J-45
Gibson J-45
The Gibson J-45 is an acoustic guitar model manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It is part of Gibson's round-shoulder, dreadnought acoustic "jumbo" line, begun in 1934 with the Gibson Jumbo Flattop which was to compete with C.F. Martin & Company's "D" line.The J-45 is generally regarded...
. As for amplifiers, he describes himself as "a Fender guy."
Influences
When asked to describe some of his influences, he notes, "When I was younger, I really got into an Eric ClaptonEric 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...
anthology that had a cross selection of songs he was well known for, and some spontaneous jams with Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
. There was so much emotion and a big slice of life in those songs performed by the old blues players . . . Billy Gibbons
Billy Gibbons
William Frederick "Billy" Gibbons is an American musician, actor and car customizer, best known as the guitarist of the Texas blues-rock band ZZ Top. He is also the lead singer and composer for many of the band's songs. Gibbons is known for playing his Gretsch Billy Bo guitar and his famous 1959...
was also a very big influence -- He had a great way of synthesizing a lot of great styles and making it his own.">
Discography
2009 Live at RockpalastRockpalast
Rockpalast is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk . Rockpalast started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock and jazz bands have performed on Rockpalast...
- One Night In Bonn (CD/DVD)
2008 Nine Pound Hammer
2006 Mark Otis Selby . . . And The Horse He Rode In On
2003 Dirt
2000 More Storms Comin
Compilation Albums
2007 Mark Selby's Nashville Picks! Vol.1
2001 Avalon Blues: A Tribute To The Music Of Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
Singles Written By Selby
| Year | Title | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Deja Voodoo" | Kenny Wayne Shepherd |
| 1997 | "Slow Ride" "Somewhere, Somehow, Someway" "Blue on Black" |
Kenny Wayne Shepherd |
| 1998 | "There's Your Trouble" | The Dixie Chicks |
| 2000 | "She's Like Mercury" ---- "Last Goodbye" |
Mark Selby ---- Kenny Wayne Shepherd |
| 2001 | "I Cry" ---- "Was" |
Tammy Cochran Tammy Cochran Tammy Cochran is an American country music artist. Signed to Epic Records Nashville in 2000, she released her self titled debut album that year, followed a year later by Life Happened... ---- Kenny Wayne Shepherd |
| 2002 | "Barbed Wire and Roses" | Pinmonkey Pinmonkey Pinmonkey is an American country music group formed in 1998 by Michael Reynolds , brothers Michael and Chad Jeffers , and former Pure Prairie League member Rick Shell . Their first album, Speak No Evil, was released independently in 2002... |
| 2003 | "Back Door To My Heart" | Mark Selby |
External links
- Official site
- [ Biography by Alex Henderson] for Allmusic
- Mark Selby on creativity, style and guitar tone for The Tone Quest Report
- Music publishing and biography
- Mark Selby at My Space