Tommy Castro

Last updated

Tommy Castro
Tommy Castro Live at W.C. Handy Blues Festival 2021.jpg
Tommy Castro Live at W.C. Handy Blues Festival 2021
Background information
Born (1955-04-15) April 15, 1955 (age 68)
San Jose, California, U.S.
Genres Blues, soul, Southern rock, Chicago blues, rock and roll, soul-blues
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals
Years active1980s–present
Labels Alligator, Blind Pig, Telarc, 33rd Street, Delta Groove, Heart And Soul, Saloon
Website tommycastro.com

Tommy Castro (born April 15, 1955) is an American blues, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008 Blues Music Award for Entertainer of the Year. [1]

Contents

According to The Chicago Sun-Times , Castro plays "Memphis soul-drenched R&B…top-of-the-line blues." [2] Tom Callahan of Blurt added, "Castro has a soulful voice, searing guitar and is an excellent songwriter and vocalist. If you close your eyes you will be convinced that you are listening to Otis Redding singing in 1967…tremendous." [3]

Biography

Tommy Castro, Los Angeles, 2021 Tommycastro Victoriasmithphotography 2.jpg
Tommy Castro, Los Angeles, 2021

Castro began playing guitar at the age of 10 and was influenced and inspired by electric blues, Chicago blues, West Coast blues, soul music, 1960s rock and roll and Southern rock. His style has always been a hybrid of all his favorite genres. He names Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Elmore James and Freddie King as guitar influences and Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and James Brown as vocal influences.

He began playing professionally in Bay Area cover-song bands in the 1970s. In the 1980s he joined the Warner Bros. Records' band The Dynatones. In San Francisco, he began playing with North Beach musicians in the 1980s. He cited Johnny Nitro and Johnny Ace as early mentors at that stage in his life. [4]

Since 1991, he has led his own bands, featuring a drummer, a bass guitar player, and a saxophone player (Keith Crossan has held the saxophone position for many years). As of 2009, he had added trumpeter Tom Poole and keyboards to the band. He was signed to Blind Pig Records label and released Exception to the Rule in late 1996. It won the 1997 Bay Area Music Award for Outstanding Blues Album, and Castro also took the award for Outstanding Blues Musician that same year. Castro was also an early adopter of the internet's new graphical web browsers to promote his music. He established his web presence in September 1995, and registered his first domain name in December 1996. [5] In the mid-1990s The Tommy Castro Band served as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television's Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live ), bringing him in front of millions of viewers every week.

In 2001 and 2002, B.B. King asked Castro to open his summer concert tours. Castro received an open invitation to join King on stage for the nightly finale.

Castro has released albums on the Telarc, 33rd Street and Heart And Soul and most recently on the Alligator label, as well as on Blind Pig. His album Guilty of Love featured the last recording session for John Lee Hooker. In 2002 he was featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley – A Tribute!, performing the song "I Can Tell". In 2007 the readers of BluesWax (online magazine) voted Painkiller as BluesWax album of the year. It also won the 2008 Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year.

In 2009, Castro joined the roster of Chicago's Alligator Records with his release Hard Believer, produced by John Porter. The album was described by Billboard as "irresistibly funky…it has a street-level grit and a soulful sincerity that's impossible to ignore." [6] Blues Revue said Hard Believer is "a fine set of roadhouse-rockin' blues.". [7] Blurt says, "Hard Believer might just be the best yet from this veteran Bay Area blues artist." [3]

In May 2010, The Blues Foundation awarded Castro multiple Blues Music Award honors for Blues Male Artist of the Year, Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, and with his band, Band of the Year. [8]

In 2011, Castro stripped down his band to a four-piece unit called the Painkillers with bassist Randy McDonald from the original Tommy Castro Band, keyboardist James Pace and original Painkillers drummer Byron Cage. 2013's The Devil You Know, was recorded with this line-up plus guest appearances by Marcia Ball, Tab Benoit, Joe Bonamassa, The Holmes Brothers, and Magic Dick. [9] The album was reviewed by Allmusic.com, saying "Castro brings fiery garage energy to everything. His guitar playing is fired up and roaring with a renewed sharpness that keeps the pot boiling. His voice is a soulful and versatile blue-collar growl. This album is full of the blues, but it's also like a full-charged blue-eyed R&B and soul review, making this one of Castro's finest releases." [10]

In 2015, recording with long-standing bassist Randy McDonald, keyboard player Mike Emerson (Elvin Bishop, Carlene Carter, [11] James Armstrong, Petty Theft), and drummer Bowen Brown he released, Method To My Madness, [12] which debuted at number four in the Billboard Blues Albums Chart. [13]

On September 29, 2017, he released Stompin' Ground (Alligator) again with Painkillers' bassist Randy McDonald, keyboardist Mike Emerson and drummer Bowen Brown. [14] As on his previous albums, Castro had several guests including Charlie Musselwhite (harp and vocals on "Live Every Day"), Mike Zito (guitar and vocals on "Rock Bottom"), Danielle Nicole (vocals on "Soul Shake"), and Los Lobos' David Hidalgo (guitar and vocals on "Them Changes"). [15]

In 2023, Castro was given his second consecutive Blues Music Award as 'B.B King Entertainer of the Year'. [16]

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvin Bishop</span> American musician

Elvin Richard Bishop is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of that group in 2015 and the Blues Hall of Fame in his own right in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cotton</span> American blues singer-songwriter (1935–2017)

James Henry Cotton was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Musselwhite</span> American blues musician

Charles Douglas Musselwhite is an American blues harmonica player and bandleader, one who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago Blues movement of the 1960s. He has often been identified as a "white bluesman".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Louis Walker</span> American singer-songwriter

Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW is an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his use of older material and playing styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tinsley Ellis</span> American blues and rock musician

Tinsley Ellis 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."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Foley</span> Musical artist

Sue Foley is a Canadian blues guitarist and singer. She has released 15 albums since her debut with Young Girl Blues (1992). In May 2020, Foley won her first Blues Music Award, in the 'Koko Taylor Award ' category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carey Bell</span> American blues musician

Carey Bell Harrington was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Besides his own albums, he recorded as an accompanist or duo artist with Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Lowell Fulson, Eddie Taylor, Louisiana Red and Jimmy Dawkins and was a frequent partner with his son, the guitarist Lurrie Bell. Blues Revue called Bell "one of Chicago's finest harpists." The Chicago Tribune said Bell was "a terrific talent in the tradition of Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter." In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucky Peterson</span> American musician (1964–2020)

Judge Kenneth "Lucky" Peterson was an American musician who played contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. He was a vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist. Music journalist Tony Russell, in his book The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray has said, "he may be the only blues musician to have had national television exposure in short pants."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Salgado</span> American singer-songwriter

Curtis Salgado is a Portland, Oregon-based blues, blues rock, and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Cummings</span> American blues musician

Albert Cummings is an American blues musician who has recorded with Blind Pig Records. He has played alongside B.B. King, Johnny Winter, and Buddy Guy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JW-Jones</span> Musical artist

JW-Jones is a Canadian blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He is a Juno Award nominee (2015), Billboard magazine Top 10 Selling artist, and winner of the International Blues Challenge for "Best Self-Produced CD Award" for his release 'High Temperature' in 2017 and Best Guitarist in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Primer</span> American singer and guitarist (born 1945)

John Primer is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist who played behind Junior Wells in the house band at Theresa's Lounge and as a member of the bands of Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Magic Slim before launching an award-winning career as a front man, carrying forward the traditional Windy City sound into the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug MacLeod (musician)</span> American storytelling blues musician (born 1946)

Doug MacLeod is an American storytelling blues musician and was the voice for the Blues Showcase of Continental Airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Adams (singer)</span> American blues guitarist

Arthur Adams is an American blues guitarist from Medon, Tennessee. Inspired by B.B. King and other 1950s artists, he played gospel music before attending college. He moved to Los Angeles, and during the 1960s and 1970s he released solo albums and worked as a session musician. In 1985 he was tapped to tour on bass guitar with Nina Simone, and he staged a comeback in the 1990s when he released Back on Track, and became a respected Chicago blues player and bandleader in B.B. King's clubs.

John Németh is an American electric blues and soul harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. He has received five Blues Music Awards for Soul Blues Male Artist, Soul Blues Album, Traditional Blues Album of the Year, Instrumentalist - Vocals and Instrumentalist - Harmonica. He has recorded ten albums since 2002, having also backed Junior Watson, Anson Funderburgh and Elvin Bishop. He has opened for Robert Cray, Keb' Mo', and Earl Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarekus Singleton</span> American singer

Jarekus Singleton is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Refuse To Lose was his first nationally and internationally distributed album. It was released on the Chicago-based independent blues record label Alligator Records on May 6, 2014. England's Blues & Rhythm called Singleton "a great, new blues talent…young, original, soulful and intense…superb, blistering guitar." According to Living Blues magazine, "Jarekus Singleton is making some serious blues noise...blending modern-day blues and emotionally intense soul with melodic, hot-toned lead guitar, funk-seasoned rhythms and hip-hop flavored lyrics." The Washington Post said, "Jarekus Singleton is an exciting new young blues guitarist with melody, hooks, swagger and a strong, original voice. His lyrics are modern, personal, acutely poetic and deeply mature." USA Today said of Singleton, "Stinging blues guitar and potent, original songs herald the emergence of a major new talent."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Wainwright</span> American songwriter

Victor Lawton Wainwright, Jr. is an American blues and boogie-woogie singer, songwriter, and pianist. Wainwright's musical style was described by the American Blues Scene magazine in 2013 as "honky-tonk and boogie, with a dose of rolling thunder. Wainwright's playing is simply beautiful madness."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugaray Rayford</span> American singer

Caron Nimoy "Sugaray" Rayford is an American soul blues singer and songwriter. He has released five albums to date and been granted three Blues Music Awards. Rayford's 2019 album, Somebody Save Me, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category.

Castro Coleman aka Mr. Sipp is an American blues and gospel singer, musician, songwriter and guitarist. Mr. Sipp is the 2014 International Blues Challenge winner by way of The Vicksburg Blues Society as well as the 2014 Gibson Best Guitarist Award Winner. The same year Castro was given the Bobby Rush Entertainer of the Year Award by the Jus' Blues Foundation. In 2015, he won several Jackson Music Awards including International Male Blues Artist, Blues Artist of the Year, and Entertainer of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christone "Kingfish" Ingram</span> American blues guitarist and singer

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram is an American blues guitarist and singer from Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States, who became a well-known performer as a teenager. His debut album, Kingfish, was released in May 2019. In addition to his own albums, musicians he has recorded with include Eric Gales, Buddy Guy and Keb Mo. He has shared the stage with well-known blues artists and younger blues musicians such as the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Samantha Fish, Bob Margolin, Eric Gales, Mr. Sipp, Rick Derringer, Guitar Shorty and Buddy Guy.

References

  1. FOLLOW, INDEX. "BLUES MUSIC AWARDS 2008, by Dorothy HILL". Bluesart.at. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. Johnson, Jeff. The Chicago Sun Times , August 9, 2009
  3. 1 2 Callahan, Tom. Blurt Online, Review of Hard Believer Archived November 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine , August 17, 2009
  4. Ace, Johnny (April 2011). "JOHNNY NITRO, THE MAYOR OF THE NORTH BEACH BLUES SCENE" (PDF). GOLDEN GATE GROOVES.
  5. "tcband.com whois lookup – who.is". Who.is. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  6. Mills, Fred. Billboard, Review of Hard Believer, August 11, 2009
  7. Nager, Larry. Blues Revue, October 2009
  8. "Tommy Castro Leads BMI Wins at 2010 Blues Music Awards". BMI.com. May 13, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  9. Lipkin, Marc. "Tommy Castro and the Painkillers' The Devil You Know Set For January 21, 2014 Release". Alligator Records. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  10. Leggett, Steve. "Tommy Castro & The Painkillers CD Review The Devil You Know". All Music. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  11. Courant, THOMAS KINTNER; Special to the (January 12, 2009). "COUNTRY'S CARLENE CARTER OPENS UP IN NEW HAVEN". courant.com. Retrieved December 12, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. "Tommy Castro & The Painkillers – Method To My Madness | Album Review". Bluesblastmagazine.com. February 21, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  13. "Blues Music: Top Blues Albums Chart". Billboard. January 14, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  14. Nash, JD (August 16, 2017). "Tommy Castro to Release 'Stompin' Ground' – American Blues Scene". American Blues Scene. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  15. "Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Stompin' Ground, Alligator Records, blues CD review by Robin Zimmerman". Chicagobluesguide.com. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  16. Grein, Paul (May 12, 2023). "Tommy Castro Repeats as Entertainer of the Year at 2023 Blues Music Awards: Full Winners List". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.