Elvin Bishop
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Elvin Bishop | |
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 Elvin Bishop at the Santa Clara County Fair (2007)
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 21, 1942 Glendale, California, United States |
| Genre(s) | Blues, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Label(s) | Blind Pig Records |
| Website | www.elvinbishopmusic.com |
Elvin Bishop (born October 21, 1942, Glendale, California[1]) is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.
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[edit] Career
Bishop grew up on an Iowa farm. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma when he was ten. There he attended Will Rogers High School. He moved to Chicago in 1960 after he won a National Merit Scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he studied Physics. He met Paul Butterfield in 1963 in the neighborhood of Hyde Park and joined his band, with whom he remained for nine years. Their third album, The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, takes its name from Bishop's nickname.[1] In 1968 he went solo and formed the Elvin Bishop Group, also standing in for Mike Bloomfield on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper.
Bishop was also a part of the Fillmore East concerts of The Allman Brothers Band. Bishop provided vocals for the song, "Drunken Hearted Boy". Over the years, Bishop has recorded with many other blues artists including Clifton Chenier and John Lee Hooker. In late 1975, he played guitar for a couple of tracks on Bo Diddley's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album. He toured with B. B. King in 1995.[1]
In 1976 Bishop released his most memorable single, "Fooled Around and Fell In Love", which peaked at #3 in the U.S. charts, about his love affair with Jenny Villarin, the mother of his late daughter Selina Bishop. The recording featured vocalist Mickey Thomas and drummer Donny Baldwin who both later joined Jefferson Starship. Bishop feels that the limitations of his voice have helped his songwriting. [2]
Bishop appeared at the 1984 Long Beach Blues Festival. In 1988 he signed with Alligator Records and released Big Fun featuring Whit Lehnberg & The Carptones, 1991's Don't Let The Bossman Get You Down, 1995's Ace In The Hole, 1998's The Skin I'm In and 2000's That's My Partner, on which he paired with his original Chicago bluesman teacher, Little Smokey Smothers.
Bishop's Alligator Records releases have been consistently well conceived.[3]
In 2005, Bishop released his first new CD in five years, Gettin' My Groove Back. [4]
[edit] Personal life
Elvin Bishop's daughter Selina was murdered in August 2000 by Glenn Taylor Helzer, his brother Justin Helzer and accomplice Dawn Godman. According to the Point Reyes Light newspaper, "Bishop, her mother Jenny Villarin, and a friend of Villarin, James Gamble, were murdered as part of an elaborate scheme to extort $100,000 from elderly Concord, California residents Ivan and Annette Stineman." [5]
[edit] See also
- List of blues musicians
- List of people from Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Music of Oklahoma
- Southern rock
- Country rock
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
- One-hit wonders in the UK
[edit] References
- ^ a b c All Music Guide biography
- ^ Elvin Bishop Interview. Songfacts.
- ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited, p. 92. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ Elvin Bishop. Blind Pig Records.
- ^ Gale, Ivan (2003-08-07). Selina Bishop murderer admits she's gulty. Point Reyes Light.
