Guitar mastermind
Joe Bonamassa, a young player with the childhood dream of playing music similar to legends like
Stevie Ray Vaughan,
Eric Clapton, and
Jimi Hendrix, was 22 when he inked a deal with Epic. Hailing from Utica, New York,
Bonamassa could play the blues before he could drive a car. He first heard
Stevie Ray Vaughan at age four and was instantly taken by
Vaughan's high-powered playing. At the age eight, he opened for
B.B. King, and at age 12, he was playing regularly around upstate New York. It was soon thereafter that
Bonamassa hooked up with the band
Bloodline, which featured other musicians' sons:
Waylon Krieger (
Robby Krieger's son),
Erin Davis (
Miles Davis' drummer kid), and
Berry Oakley, Jr. (son of the
Allman Brothers bassist).
Bloodline released a self-titled album, but
Bonamassa wanted to move on. In summer 2000 he guested for
Roger McGuinn on
Jethro Tull's summer tour, later releasing his debut solo album,
A New Day Yesterday. Produced by longtime fan
Tom Dowd, the album marked a move toward a more organic and rock-sounding direction. He put together a power trio with drummer
Kenny Kramme and bassist
Eric Czar and hit the road to support the album.
Upon returning from the road, he hooked up with
Dowd to record the muscular and sweeping studio disc
So, It's Like That and released a document of the tour,
A New Day Yesterday Live. The following year,
Bonamassa put out
Blues Deluxe, featuring nine cover versions of blues classics alongside three originals. The muscular
You & Me appeared in 2006, followed by the more acoustic-tinged
Sloe Gin in 2007. A year later,
Bonamassa released the two-disc live album
Live from Nowhere in Particular, followed in 2009 by The Ballad of John Henry. Late in 2009 he released the DVD Live from the Royal Albert Hall with guest spots from
Eric Clapton and Paul Jones. In 2010, the guitarist released his first disc for the Premier Artists label, Black Rock, featuring a guest appearance by
B.B. King. It was followed by the debut album from Black Country Communion, a blues-rock supergroup which put him in the company of bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, drummer Jason Bonham, and keyboardist Derek Sherinian.
Bonamassa, ever the overachiever, released his earthy Dust Bowl in March of 2011, followed by Black Country Communion's 2 in June and by his unique collaboration with vocalist Beth Hart on a searing collection of soul covers entitled Don't Explain in September. In May of 2012,
Bonamassa released Driving Towards the Daylight. The album reunited the guitarist with producer Kevin Shirley, who brought in Aerosmith's Brad Whitford to play rhythm guitar on the 11 tracks.
–
MacKenzie Wilson & Al Campbell, Rovi