Tinsley Ellis (born June 4, 1957) is an American blues and rock musician, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and grew up in South Florida. According to Billboard, "nobody has released more consistently excellent blues albums than Atlanta's Tinsley Ellis. He sings like a man possessed and wields a mean lead guitar."[2]
Rolling Stone said, "On assertive originals and standards by the likes of Jimmy Reed and Junior Wells, Atlanta's Tinsley Ellis unleashes feral blues guitar. Nonstop gigging has sharpened his six-string to a razor's edge…his eloquence dazzles…he also achieves pyrotechnics that rival early Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton."[3]
Biography
His love for electric blues grew by listening to British Invasion bands such as the Yardbirds, the Animals, Cream, and the Rolling Stones.[1] Ellis has stated that the first guitar playing he heard were songs like "Dirty Water" by The Standells, and "Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers, but that he then "got into the real stuff" like Freddie King.[4] Inspired by a live appearance by B.B. King, where King broke a guitar string and gave it to a 15-year-old Ellis - which Ellis claims to still have in his possession to this day - he was determined to become a blues guitarist. In 1975, he played with the Haygood Band while attending Emory University near Atlanta. Two years later, already an accomplished musician, he returned to Atlanta and joined his first professional blues band, the Alley Cats, a group that included Preston Hubbard of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.[1] Ellis graduated from Emory in 1979 with a degree in history. In 1981, he formed the Heartfixers, with the singer and harmonica player Chicago Bob Nelson.[5] The group recorded three albums for the small Landslide record label, one with the singer, Nappy Brown before breaking up in 1988.[5] The same year, Ellis signed a recording contract with Chicago's Alligator Records.[5]
His debut solo album on Alligator Records, Georgia Blue, was released in 1988.[1] It received mixed-to-poor reviews.[6] Alligator then reissued two earlier albums, Cool On It and Tore Up (on which the Heartfixers backed Nappy Brown). Ellis' next four releases were Fanning the Flames (1989), Trouble Time (1992), Storm Warning (1994), and Fire It Up (1997).[1] Artists including Peter Buck (of R.E.M.), Derek Trucks, and Chuck Leavell joined him in the studio. He worked with the record producers, Eddy Offord and Tom Dowd.
Ellis' reputation and media coverage continued to grow. He appeared on NBC-TV Sports during the network's 1996 Summer Olympics coverage.
He returned to Alligator Records in 2005 with the live album, Live! Highwayman. In 2007 he released the studio album, Moment of Truth, followed in 2009 with Speak No Evil.[1] Ellis continues to tour over 150 nights a year around the world.[citation needed]
Also in 2013, Ellis launched his own label, Heartfixer Music, and has since released several albums: the all instrumental Get It!, Midnight Blue, Tough Love and, in 2016, Red Clay Soul.
In 2017, Ellis launched a new side project called Tinsley Ellis Blues Is Dead, in which he performs the blues and R&B songs recorded by Grateful Dead and other Fillmore era acts.[who?]
Commenting on Ellis's album, Ice Cream in Hell, AllMusic stated "On Ice Cream in Hell, Ellis' songwriting and singing finally match the prowess in his playing, and we are all richer for it."[8]
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Ellis was "determined to grow as a songwriter," according to AllMusic; he is stated to have written 200 songs in just a year and a half. The resulting album, Devil May Care, released in January 2022, was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews.[9]
Ellis announced the pending release of a new album, Naked Truth, in November 2023. The album is scheduled to be released on February 9, 2024. Ellis released a single, "Devil In The Room", after making the announcement.
Discography
1982 – Featuring Chicago Bob Nelson (with The Heartfixers)
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Live:Highwayman is a 2005 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded live at the Chord On Blues Blues Club in St. Charles, Illinois, by Timothy Powell for Metro Mobile Recording, mixed by Sam Fishkin and live performance location sound mixing by Ron Willhoff. It was mastered by Dan Stout and Bruce Iglauer and produced by Tinsley Ellis and Bruce Iglauer. Tinsley wrote or co-wrote seven of the songs on the album.
The Hard Way is a 2004 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded and mixed at Stonehenge at ZAC Atlanta, Georgia, engineered and mixed by Jimmy Zumpano, mastered by Rodney Mills and produced by Tinsley Ellis with Robert Woods as executive producer. Tinsley wrote all songs except for "Still in the Game" and "Me Without You".
Hell or High Water is a 2002 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded and mixed at Stonehenge at ZAC Atlanta, Georgia by Eddy Offord and Jimmy Zumpano, mastered by Rodney Mills and produced by Eddy Offord with Robert Woods as executive producer and Michael Rothschild as co-ordinating producer.
Trouble Time is a 1992 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded by Mark Richardson at Triclops Sound Studios and Ricky Keller at Southern Living Studio in Atlanta, Georgia with horns recorded by Lynn Fuston at Classic Recording Nashville, Tennessee. It was mixed by Rodney Mills assisted by Russ Fowler and Tag George at Southern Tracks Studios Atlanta, Georgia, mastered by Dr. Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital, Southborough, Massachusetts, and produced by Ricky Keller, Tinsley Ellis and Bruce Iglauer, with Michael Rothschild as executive producer. Tinsley wrote/co-wrote all songs except "Hey Hey Baby", "What Have I Done Wrong?" and "The Axe".
Speak No Evil is a 2009 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded and mixed by Jim Z and Tony Terrebonne with Matt Pool assisting at Stonehenge at Zac Recording in Atlanta, Georgia. It was mastered by Rodney Mills at Rodney Mills Master House, Duluth, Georgia, and produced by Tinsley Ellis with Bruce Iglauer as executive producer. Tinsley wrote all of the songs on the album.
Moment of Truth is a 2007 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded by Tony Terrebonne, mixed by Sam Fishkin, mastered by Dan Stout and produced by Tinsley Ellis with Bruce Iglauer and Tim Kolleth as executive producers. Tinsley wrote all but two of the songs.
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Tore Up is an album by the American blues musician Nappy Brown, released in 1984. A comeback album, it was recorded with Tinsley Ellis and the Heartfixers. The album was reissued by Alligator Records in 1990.
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