- Eric Bibb
Eric Bibb (born
August 16 ,1951 ) is an American acousticblues singer/songwriter. He is based inLondon and launched his career in Europe.Biography
Bibb was born in
New York ; his father, Leon Bibb, is a singer in musical theatre who made a name for himself as part of the 1960s New York folk scene. His uncle was the jazzpianist and composer John Lewis, of theModern Jazz Quartet . Family friends includedPete Seeger ,Odetta and actor/singer/activistPaul Robeson , Bibb's godfather.He was given his first
steel-string acoustic guitar aged seven. Growing up surrounded by talent, he recalls a childhood conversation withBob Dylan , who, on the subject of guitar playing, advised the 11-year-old Eric to "Keep it simple, forget all that fancy stuff".Bibb remembers from his early teen years:
I would cut school and claim I was sick. When everyone would leave the house I would whip out all the records and do my own personal DJ thing all day long, playing
Odetta ,Joan Baez , theNew Lost City Ramblers ,Josh White .At 16 years old, his father invited him to play guitar in the house band for his TV talent show "Someone New". Bill Lee, who played bass in this band, was later to appear on Eric's albums "Me To You" and "Friends".
In 1969, Bibb played guitar for the Negro Ensemble Company at St. Mark's Place in New York. He went on to study Psychology and Russian at
Columbia University , but did not finish these studies. Aged 19, Bibb left forParis , where he met guitaristMickey Baker who focused his interest in blues guitar.Bibb moved to
Sweden and lived inStockholm , where he immersed himself in pre-warblues and the newly-discoveredWorld Music scene, while he continued to write and perform.The album "Good Stuff" was released in 1997 on Opus 3 and American label Earthbeat. Eric signed to the British-based Code Blue label, but only released one album: "Me to You", featuring appearances from some of Bibb's personal heroes: Pops and
Mavis Staples , and Taj Mahal. This was followed by tours of the UK, USA, Canada, France, Sweden and Germany.In the late 1990s Eric joined forces with his then manager Alan Robinson, to form Manhaton Records, in Britain. The albums "Home to Me" (1999), "Roadworks" (2000) and "Painting Signs" (2001) followed, as did another Opus 3 release, "Just Like Love".
After that, "A Family Affair" (2002) - the first ever album recorded together by father and son - Leon & Eric Bibb. "Natural Light" then "Friends" - 15 tracks featuring Eric duetting with friends and musicians he has met on his travels such as Taj Mahal,
Odetta ,Charlie Musselwhite , Guy Davis,Mamadou Diabate andDjelimady Toukara .Appearances
Bibb has appeared on major TV and radio shows including "
Later with Jools Holland " and "The Late Late Show". Bibb and his band have played at most of the world's major festivals including Glastonbury (twice) and theCambridge Folk Festival in the UK. He joinedRobert Cray on two U.S. tours in 2001 and 2002 and opened forBonnie Raitt on a recent UK tour, andRay Charles in the summer of 2002.In 2005 "A Ship Called Love" (Telarc CD-83629) was released and Bibb went on another successful world tour, including a major 30-date US tour with
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers andRobben Ford . "A Ship Called Love" was nominated for Acoustic Album of the Year in the 2006 Blues Music Awards.In 2006 "Praising Peace", the Leon Bibb/Eric Bibb tribute to
Paul Robeson , was released onStony Plain Records , while in September "Diamond Days" was also released (Telarc CD-83660). It was produced by Glen Scott and recorded in the UK, Sweden and Canada. It includes a live recording of "In My Father's House" featuring Bibb's long-time recording and touring partner Dave Bronze (Eric Clapton Band). As usual, there is a world tour resulting from this release.Bibb's talent for both performing and songwriting has been recognised with a
Grammy Nomination (for "Shakin' a Tailfeather") and fiveW. C. Handy Award nominations (for the albums "Spirit and the Blues" and "Home To Me"; for "Kokomo" as Best Acoustic Blues Song of the Year, and twice for Best Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year). His songs have featured on TV shows such as BBC TV's "EastEnders " and "Casualty", and "The District " in the USA. Bibb's version of "I Heard the Angels Singin" was included in the feature film "The Burial Society" and Bibb appears onJools Holland 's double platinum-selling album "Small World, Big Band", singing his own composition "All That You Are". In Australia, he has appeared several times on ABC national television on the 'Live At The Basement' series.Bibb has an ability to meld traditional blues styles with more contemporary sounds. As one criticWho|date=September 2008 put it "Eric's singing and versatile guitar playing fuses a variety of genres to become a New World Blues".
"Eric is one of the new, young singers that has appeared on the scene that, much to my delight, has a great voice, is an excellent performer and has a great knowledge about the roots of this music" - Taj MahalFact|date=September 2008
External links
* [http://www.ericbibb.com Official website]
* [http://www.festival.bc.ca/jerichobeach/?artist=bibb Record label] biography
* [http://www.wirz.de/music/bibbdsc.htm Illustrated Eric Bibb discography]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu-otdZmC4E Video: In My Father's House]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arFkhtm28V4 Video: Tell Ol' Bill]
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