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Elvin Richard Bishop | |
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 Bishop performing in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Born | (1942-10-21)October 21, 1942 (age 82) Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | The Paul Butterfield Blues Band |
| Website | www |
Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942)[1] is an Americanblues androck music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ofthe Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in theBlues Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016.
Bishop was born inGlendale, California, the son of Mylda (Kleege) and Elvin Bishop Sr.[2] He grew up on a farm nearElliott, Iowa. His family moved toTulsa, Oklahoma, when he was 10. There he attendedWill Rogers High School, winning a full scholarship to theUniversity of Chicago as aNational Merit Scholar. He moved to Chicago in 1960 to attend the university, where he majored inphysics.
In 1963, Bishop met harmonica playerPaul Butterfield in the neighborhood ofHyde Park, joined Butterfield'sblues band, and remained with them for five years. Bishop was originally Butterfield's only guitarist, but was later joined byMike Bloomfield, who largely assumed the lead guitar role for the band's first two albums. After Bloomfield departed, the Butterfield Band's third album,The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, took its name from Bishop's nickname and his renewed role as lead guitarist.[1] Bishop recorded a fourth album,In My Own Dream, with Butterfield, his last with the band, in 1968.[3]
During his time with the Butterfield Blues Band, Bishop met blues guitarist Louis Myers at a show. Bishop persuaded Myers to trade hisGibson ES-345 for Bishop's Telecaster. Bishop liked the Gibson so much he never gave it back and has used it throughout his career. Bishop has nicknamed his Gibson ES-345 "Red Dog," a name he got from a roadie for the Allman Brothers Band.[4]
In 1968, he went solo and formed the Elvin Bishop Group, also performing with Bloomfield andAl Kooper on their album titledThe Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. The group signed with Fillmore Records, which was owned byBill Graham, who also owned the Fillmore music venues.[5]
Bishop sat in with theGrateful Dead on June 8, 1969, at theFillmore West in San Francisco. He opened the second set with the lengthy blues jam "Turn on Your Lovelight" withoutPigpen orJerry. He played two more songs with the Dead, "The Things I Used to Do" and "Who's Lovin' You Tonight."[6]
In March 1971, The Elvin Bishop Group andThe Allman Brothers Band co-billed a series of concerts at theFillmore East. Bishop joined The Allman Brothers Band onstage for a rendition of his own song, "Drunken-Hearted Boy." Over the years, Bishop has recorded with many other blues artists, such asJohn Lee Hooker, and with Zydeco artistClifton Chenier. In late 1975, he played guitar for a couple of tracks onBo Diddley'sThe 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll album and, in 1995, he toured withB.B. King.[1]
Bishop made an impression onalbum-oriented rock FM radio stations with "Travelin' Shoes" in 1975[7] but, a year later, in 1976, Bishop released his most memorable single, "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," which peaked at No. 3 in the USBillboard Hot 100chart[3] (and No. 34 in theUK Singles Chart). The recording featured vocalistMickey Thomas and drummerDonny Baldwin who both later joinedJefferson Starship.[3]
During the 1960s and 1970s he recorded for the Fillmore, Epic and Capricorn labels.[3]
Bishop appeared at the 1984Long Beach Blues Festival. In 1988, he signed withAlligator Records and releasedBig Fun featuring Whit Lehnberg & The Carptones, 1991'sDon't Let the Bossman Get You Down!, 1995'sAce in the Hole, 1998'sThe Skin I'm In andThat's My Partner (2000), on which he paired with an earlyChicago blues teacher,Little Smokey Smothers. He later revisited Smothers in the studio, where the two recorded another album in 2009,Little Smokey Smothers & Elvin Bishop: Chicago Blues Buddies.
Bishop was inducted into theOklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 2005, Bishop released his first new solo CD in seven years,Gettin' My Groove Back.[8] In 2008, Bishop releasedThe Blues Rolls On, on September 23, 2008, switching labels toDelta Groove Music. He was supported byTommy Castro,James Cotton,Warren Haynes, B.B. King,Derek Trucks,George Thorogood,Kim Wilson,John Németh andAngela Strehli. The album was nominated forGrammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2010, Bishop releasedRed Dog Speaks.
His first live concert DVD,That's My Thing: Elvin Bishop Live in Concert, was recorded live at the Club Fox inRedwood City, California, on December 17, 2011. It was released on the Delta Groove label in October 2012. The DVD was nominated for Best Blues DVD of 2012 by theBlues Foundation. The same organization announced that Bishop had six nominations for the 36thBlues Music Awards held in May 2015.[9] He triumphed in three of them.[10]
In April 2015, Bishop was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
In November 2017, his albumElvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio received a nomination for theGrammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. The Grammy was won by The Rolling Stones forBlue and Lonesome.[11]
In November 2021, his album withCharlie Musselwhite,100 Years of Blues, received a nomination for theGrammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Bishop lost to Cedric Burnside for his albumI Be Trying.[12]
Bishop's daughter Selina and ex-wife Jennifer Villarin were murdered along with three other victims in an August 2000 crime spree.[13] The perpetrators were later identified as Selina's then-boyfriendGlenn Helzer, Helzer’s brother Justin Helzer, and accomplice Dawn Godman. The murders reportedly occurred as part of a scheme to extort money from an elderly couple fromConcord, California.[14][15] Both killers were sentenced to death for the murders; Justin Helzer, blind and partially paralyzed from an attempt on his own life while incarcerated, subsequently committedsuicide in San Quentin prison.
Charlie Daniels mentions Bishop in his 1975 song "The South's Gonna Do It", with the lyric, "Elvin Bishop sittin' on a bale of hay; he ain't good lookin', but he sure can play." Bishop, on his 1974 albumLet it Flow, had previously mentioned Charlie Daniels.Molly Hatchet also references Bishop in their 1978 song "Gator Country", with the lyrics, "Elvin Bishop out struttin' his stuff with little Miss Slick Titty Boom, I'm goin' back to the Gator Country and get me some elbow room."
"Fooled Around and Fell in Love" was included in the soundtrack album forGuardians of the Galaxy titledAwesome Mix Vol. 1. The song also is heard playing during the wedding reception scene after Billy Riggins and Mindy Collette were married in theFriday Night Lights episode "Tomorrow Blues" (Season 3, Episode 13). This song can also be heard playing in the background in the local bar scene between Sarah Jessica Parker and Luke Wilson in the movieThe Family Stone. Jeff Garlin's character plays this song during a scene in the Netflix comedy,Handsome. The song was also featured in a memorable scene in the movieBoogie Nights, at Jack's pool party early in the film, and was featured on the second volume of the movie soundtrack,Boogie Nights 2: More Music from the Original Motion Picture. "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" is featured on the E.P.Love Letters by Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music fame), released in 2022.
| Year | Album | US[16] | CA[17] | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Elvin Bishop Group | — | — | Fillmore |
| 1970 | Feel It! | — | — | |
| 1972 | Rock My Soul | — | — | Epic |
| 1974 | Let It Flow | 100 | — | Capricorn |
| 1975 | Juke Joint Jump | 46 | 53 | |
| 1975 | Struttin' My Stuff | 18 | 22 | |
| 1976 | Hometown Boy Makes Good! | 70 | — | |
| 1978 | Hog Heaven | — | — | |
| 1981 | Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby | — | — | Line |
| 1988 | Big Fun | — | — | Alligator |
| 1991 | Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down! | — | — | |
| 1995 | Ace in the Hole | — | — | |
| 1998 | The Skin I'm In | — | — | |
| 2005 | Gettin' My Groove Back | — | Blind Pig | |
| 2008 | The Blues Rolls On | — | Delta Groove | |
| 2009 | Chicago Blues Buddies (withLittle Smokey Smothers) | — | Blackderby | |
| 2010 | Red Dog Speaks | — | Delta Groove | |
| 2012 | She Puts Me In The Mood | — | Blues Boulevard | |
| 2014 | Can't Even Do Wrong Right | — | Alligator | |
| 2017 | Elvin Bishop's Big Fun Trio | — | ||
| 2018 | Something Smells Funky 'Round Here | — | ||
| 2020 | 100 Years of Blues (withCharlie Musselwhite)[18] | — |
| Year | Album | US[16] | CA[17] | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Raisin' Hell | 38 | 62 | Capricorn |
| 2000 | That’s My Partner! (withLittle Smokey Smothers) | — | — | Alligator |
| 2001 | King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert | — | — | |
| 2007 | Booty Bumpin | — | — | Blind Pig |
| 2011 | Elvin Bishop's Raisin' Hell Revue | — | — | Delta Groove |
| Year | Single | US[19] | UK[20] | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "Travelin' Shoes" | 61 | — | |
| 1975 | "Sure Feels Good" | 83 | — | |
| 1976 | "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" | 3 | 34 |
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| "Struttin' My Stuff" | 68 | — | ||
| "Spend Some Time" | 93 | — |
