Amos Garrett | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1941-11-26)November 26, 1941 (age 84) Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Blues,jazz,blues rock,country rock |
| Occupations | Musician, singer,session musician, guitarist, composer |
| Instruments | Guitar,electric sitar, vocals,trombone, bass guitar,mandolin, piano |
| Years active | 1963 – present |
| Labels | Stony Plain,Bearsville |
| Website | melmusic |
Amos Garrett (born November 26, 1941) is anAmerican-Canadian blues and blues-rock musician, guitarist, singer, composer, and musical arranger. He has written instructional books about music and guitar. Garrett holdsdual citizenship and was raised inToronto andMontreal.[1] He is best known for his guitar solos onMaria Muldaur's recording "Midnight at the Oasis",[1] and onPaul Butterfield's Better Days recording of "Please Send Me Someone to Love."[2] He has written books about music, such asAmos Garrett—Stringbending: A Master Class.
Over the course of his career, Garrett has recorded with more than 150 artists, ranging fromStevie Wonder,Todd Rundgren, andPearls Before Swine toEmmylou Harris,Rodney Crowell,Bonnie Raitt, andMartin Mull.[1] He can be heard onAnne Murray's chart-topping rendition of "Snowbird".[1] The guitaristJimmy Page, ofLed Zeppelin, stated Garrett was one of his favorite American guitar players in a 1975Rolling Stone interview.[2]
Garrett was born in Detroit, Michigan on November 26, 1941. When he was five, his family moved toToronto, Ontario. He studied piano andtrombone at theRoyal Conservatory of Music of Toronto.[3][4]
At twelve, he relocated toMontreal,Quebec, Canada, where he began playing guitar at fourteen.[3][4] There, at the Esquire Club, he would learn while watching performers such asBen E. King,T-Bone Walker,Fats Domino, andB. B. King.[1] After studying English literature atWabash College, he opted to pursue a career in music and moved back to Toronto in 1962.[3]
Garrett's first professional gig was accompanyingMike Settle atCarnegie Hall in the winter of 1963. Settle was the opening act forVaughn Meader.[5] From 1964 to 1967, Garrett played in the Torontojug/string band, the Dirty Shames, which included Chick Roberts, Jim McCarthy, and Carol Robinson.[3] It was during this period that Garrett and Roberts tookJohn Hammond, Jr., to seeLevon and the Hawks for the first time.[6] The Hawks would later be recommended by Hammond toBob Dylan.
In 1968, he played guitar onGeoff Muldaur andMaria's albumPottery Pie.[7] In 1968, Garrett began a two-year stint of touring and recording with the Canadian duoIan & Sylvia, which led to becoming a founding member ofGreat Speckled Bird.[3] This band is featured in the filmFestival Express, playing the song "C.C. Rider" with members of theGrateful Dead andDelaney Bramlett in 1970. As a special feature on the DVD release of the film, Great Speckled Bird is shown playing theDylan-Manuel song "Tears of Rage".[citation needed]
Garrett moved toWoodstock, New York, in 1970 to play inMaria andGeoff Muldaur's band.[8] Based there, he performed and recorded with artists that were part ofAlbert Grossman'sBearsville stable, such asBobby Charles,Todd Rundgren, andJesse Winchester, and as a member ofPaul Butterfield's Better Days. Garrett was also a member of Hungry Chuck, another Bearsville act, which was formed of ex–Great Speckled Bird members. They released aneponymous album in 1972.[9] Garrett also played trombone on two songs forJerry Garcia's second solo album,Garcia, released in 1974. He played the guitar solo on Maria Muldaur's hit single "Midnight at the Oasis", which reached number 6 on theBillboard chart in June 1974.[citation needed]
After living inBoston for two years, Garrett moved to San Francisco in 1976 to pursue session work.[3] There, he continued as member and bandleader of Maria Muldaur's group until 1978, toured theR&B circuits of North America, and recorded with more than 150 artists.[3]
"I wanted to sing. I loved to sing, but there was no way I could do so being a hired gun for bands."—Amos Garrett[4]
In 1978, Garrett decided to pursue fronting his own project, left Muldaur's group, and began releasing material throughStony Plain Records, a label based inEdmonton, Alberta, Canada.[4] His first solo album was 1980'sGo Cat Go, which was followed byAmosbehavin in 1982. He formed his backup band, the Eh Team, around this time.[1]
Garrett shared performing and recording duties and co-wrote two songs for the 1988 albumThe Return of the Formerly Brothers with the lateDoug Sahm and the pianistGene Taylor.Queen Ida sat in on accordion. The album was awarded the inaugural1989,Juno Award forBest Roots & Traditional Album.[3] A follow-up live album,Live in Japan, was recorded in 1990 from performances by Garrett, Sahm and Taylor in clubs and concert halls in Tokyo,Osaka andKyoto.
In 1989, Garrett relocated toTurner Valley, Alberta.[4] That year also brought the albumI Make My Home in My Shoes, which paid tribute to his boyhood days, especially on "Stanley Street", a song written in recollection of the Esquire Club. Garrett began his intermittent role as bandleader and member of theEdmonton Folk Music Festival's Festival House Band in 1990, reprising it from 1994 to 2000, from 2002 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2012.[10][11] With Garrett, the band has backed such acts asRichard Thompson,Solomon Burke,Ruth Brown,Rick Danko,Jay McShann,Johnnie Johnson, andRosco Gordon.Third Man In, released in 1992, was a collection ofcovers and originals. Garrett's covers were written by Bobby Charles andPercy Mayfield.
Garrett was presented with an Alberta Music Industry Award in 1994.[12] The albumOff the Floor Live followed in 1996. It was recorded live with the Eh Team at the Sidetrack Club in Edmonton.
The Cold Club was a collaboration withOscar Lopez, David Wilkie, Karl Roth and Ron Casat. They released an eponymous record in 1996. Maria Muldaur, Mike Lent and Teddy Borowiecki guested on the album.[13] Garrett releasedAmos Garrett's Acoustic Album in 2004. It features tracks written byLead Belly andHoagy Carmichael, among others. It was nominated for a2005 Juno Award. This was followed by the 2008 releaseGet Way Back: A Tribute to Percy Mayfield, which was also nominated for aJuno Award for Blues Album of the year.[14] Garrett was living inHigh River, Alberta, in 2008.[1]
On November 6, 2011, Garrett conducted a clinic and then performed as part of the Sleepwalk Guitar Festival in Toronto.[15] The festival was presented bySix Shooter Records and curated byLuke Doucet.
Garrett has authored instructional books about music and guitar. He has also released instructional albums and videos.[16][17]
Garrett is known as "The Fishin' Musician". He enjoys fishing and hopes to one day catch anAtlantic Salmon of twentypounds or more.[1][4]
| Year | Album | Album Artist | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | This Way Is My Way | Anne Murray | Capitol |
| 1970 | Great Speckled Bird | Great Speckled Bird | Ampex |
| 1972 | Hungry Chuck | Hungry Chuck | Bearsville |
| 1973 | Maria Muldaur | Maria Muldaur | Reprise |
| Paul Butterfield's Better Days | Paul Butterfield's Better Days | Bearsville | |
| It All Comes Back | |||
| 1978 | Geoff Muldaur & Amos Garrett | Geoff Muldaur & Amos Garrett | Stony Plain |
| 1980 | Go Cat Go | Amos Garrett | |
| 1981 | Amosbehavin' | ||
| 1987 | The Return of the Formerly Brothers | Amos Garrett,Doug Sahm,Gene Taylor Band | |
| 1989 | I Make My Home in My Shoes | Amos Garrett | |
| 1990 | Live in Japan | Amos Garrett, Doug Sahm, Gene Taylor Band | |
| 1992 | Third Man In | Amos Garrett | |
| 1996 | Off the Floor Live! | ||
| The Cold Club | The Cold Club | Cold Club | |
| 2005 | Acoustic Album | Amos Garrett | Stony Plain |
| 2008 | Get Way Back: A Tribute to Percy Mayfield |
| Year | Song | Album | Label | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | "Bert's Boogie" | Saturday Night Blues | Stony Plain/CBC | Composed by Amos Garrett |
| "Home in My Shoes" | 15 Years of Stony Plain | Stony Plain | ||
| "Sure Is a Good Thing" | WithDoug Sahm andGene Taylor | |||
| "Talk to Me" | With Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor | |||
| 1996 | "Long, Long Time to Get Old" | 20 Years of Stony Plain | WithGreat Speckled Bird Composed byIan Tyson | |
| "Small Town Talk" | WithMaria Muldaur Composed byBobby Charles | |||
| "Wrong Lake to Catch a Fish" | Composed byChuck Willis | |||
| 1997 | "Walkin' Blues" | Absolute Blues Vol. 1 | ||
| "Sure Is a Good Thing" | Absolute Blues Vol. 2 | With Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor | ||
| 2001 | "Bert's Boogie" | 25 Years of Stony Plain | Composed by Amos Garrett | |
| 2006 | "Sam's Song (The Happy Tune)" | 30 Years of Stony Plain | Composed byJack Elliott and Lew Quadling | |
| "Poor Fool Like Me" | Video performance | |||
| 2007 | "Some Kind of Fool" | The Gift: A Tribute to Ian Tyson | Composed by Ian Tyson | |
| 2011 | "Get Way Back" | 35 Years of Stony Plain | Composed byPercy Mayfield | |
| "Teardrops on Your Letter" | With Doug Sahm and Gene Taylor |
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