Rowland Salley
Encyclopedia
Rowland Salley is an American musician, songwriter and artist, sometimes called Roly Salley. Salley is a bass guitarist and vocalist for Chris Isaak
's band Silvertone. His best known tune is "Killing the Blues" which has been covered by John Prine
, Chris Smither
, Shawn Colvin
and more recently, Robert Plant
and Alison Krauss
on their 2007 album, Raising Sand
. As a band member for Chris Isaak, he was a regular on The Chris Isaak Show
.
. He began playing bass in high school and was kicked off the track team for having long hair. He has written, "the timing of events is what often moves somebody. One of those events came for me in the form of a monster tornado that hit our high school one sunny Friday afternoon in the springtime [21 April 1967]. There was death and destruction and though I wasn't consciously trying to flee the place or the characters of my town... there was a lot that I wanted to try in my lifetime... [and] I ought to set about it before another "tornado" came along." His first move was to Madison, Wisconsin
where he started a band. He then moved to Woodstock, New York
. He got work as a session musician working with such performers as Maria Muldaur
, John Sebastian
and Paul Butterfield
. He later moved to Toronto
where he played with such performers as David Wilcox (Canadian musician)
and Ian and Sylvia
. Later, he moved to Los Angeles where he backed up such singers as Bobbie Gentry
and Joan Baez
. He moved to San Francisco in 1983. Two years later, he met Chris Isaak and has performed with the Silvertones ever since.
Salley's solo album Killing the Blues was recorded on weekends in Vancouver during breaks in in filming The Chris Isaak Show in 2004. The album is a mix of new and old material, dating as far back as 1977 (the title song). After Shawn Colvin recorded "Killing the Blues" in 1994 she wrote, "Larry Campbell
from New York told me in 1981 while we were in a band together that I should learn this song by his friend, Roly Salley. Just when you think there's no new way to say anything, you hear a song like this and think, that's as good as anything before or since."
Of the songwriting process, Salley has written, "the part I like best about writing is the second you realize that you've just written a song." He markets reproductions of his art through his website and has contributed his art to three of Maria Muldaur's albums.
During the Academy Awwards ceremony airing on US television in 2008, the retailer JC Penney aired a commercial featuring the newly covered version of 'Killing the Blues' sung by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. This version was listed as #51 on Rolling Stone
in February 2009.
Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
's band Silvertone. His best known tune is "Killing the Blues" which has been covered by John Prine
John Prine
John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
, Chris Smither
Chris Smither
Chris Smither is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.-Early life, influences and education:...
, Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
and more recently, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
and Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
on their 2007 album, Raising Sand
Raising Sand
Raising Sand is a collaboration album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released on October 23, 2007 by Rounder Records...
. As a band member for Chris Isaak, he was a regular on The Chris Isaak Show
The Chris Isaak Show
The Chris Isaak Show is a television sitcom which follows a fictionalized version of the life of American rock musician Chris Isaak. The show portrays Isaak and his band members as everyday people with everyday problems...
.
Biography
Salley was born in Belvidere, IllinoisBelvidere, Illinois
Belvidere is a city in Boone County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,585 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Boone County. Belvidere is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. He began playing bass in high school and was kicked off the track team for having long hair. He has written, "the timing of events is what often moves somebody. One of those events came for me in the form of a monster tornado that hit our high school one sunny Friday afternoon in the springtime [21 April 1967]. There was death and destruction and though I wasn't consciously trying to flee the place or the characters of my town... there was a lot that I wanted to try in my lifetime... [and] I ought to set about it before another "tornado" came along." His first move was to Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
where he started a band. He then moved to Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
. He got work as a session musician working with such performers as Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur is a folk-blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s...
, John Sebastian
John Sebastian
John Benson Sebastian Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and autoharpist. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000...
and Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
. He later moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
where he played with such performers as David Wilcox (Canadian musician)
David Wilcox (Canadian musician)
David Wilcox is a Canadian rock musician.-History:Montreal native, David Wilcox drew inspiration from musician Elvis Presley at the early age of six...
and Ian and Sylvia
Ian and Sylvia
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.-Early lives:...
. Later, he moved to Los Angeles where he backed up such singers as Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry
Roberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...
and Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
. He moved to San Francisco in 1983. Two years later, he met Chris Isaak and has performed with the Silvertones ever since.
Salley's solo album Killing the Blues was recorded on weekends in Vancouver during breaks in in filming The Chris Isaak Show in 2004. The album is a mix of new and old material, dating as far back as 1977 (the title song). After Shawn Colvin recorded "Killing the Blues" in 1994 she wrote, "Larry Campbell
Larry Campbell (musician)
Larry Campbell is a multi-instrumentalist who plays many stringed instruments in genres including country, folk, blues, and rock...
from New York told me in 1981 while we were in a band together that I should learn this song by his friend, Roly Salley. Just when you think there's no new way to say anything, you hear a song like this and think, that's as good as anything before or since."
Of the songwriting process, Salley has written, "the part I like best about writing is the second you realize that you've just written a song." He markets reproductions of his art through his website and has contributed his art to three of Maria Muldaur's albums.
During the Academy Awwards ceremony airing on US television in 2008, the retailer JC Penney aired a commercial featuring the newly covered version of 'Killing the Blues' sung by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. This version was listed as #51 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to quality country music collaborations for artists who do not normally perform together...
in February 2009.