Keb' Mo'
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| Keb' Mo' | |
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 Keb' Mo' in 2006 at Rhythm & Ribs Festival, Kansas City
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin Moore |
| Born | October 3, 1951  South Central Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Compton, California, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Delta blues Soul R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter Guitarist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals Guitar Keyboards |
| Years active | 1980 - 1982 1993 – present |
| Label(s) | Chocolate City Epic |
| Website | KebMo.com |
Keb' Mo' (born October 3, 1951 in South Central Los Angeles, California as Kevin Moore)[1] is a noted American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In his own words, the more he got to be called Keb’ Mo’, the more he got interested in the blues[citation needed]. As noted by Moore himself in the Martin Scorsese miniseries The Blues, Keb' Mo' was greatly influenced by blues legend Robert Johnson.
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[edit] Early life
Keb' Mo' came from a divorced family. From early on he had an appreciation for blues and gospel. "The Blues is my history, my culture," said Keb' Mo' in an interview[citation needed]. His uncle gave him his first guitar. By adolescence he was already an accomplished guitarist[2]. He also played the trumpet and the French horn.
[edit] Career
Keb' Mo' started his musical career playing the steel drums and upright bass in a calypso band. He moved on to play in a variety of blues and backup bands throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He first started recording in the early 1970s with Jefferson Starship violinist Papa John Creach through an R&B group Creach hired when Moore was just 21 years old. Around that time he was also a staff writer for A&M Records, and arranged demos for Almo - Irving music. Keb' Mo's early debut, Rainmaker, came out on Chocolate City Records, a subsidiary of Casablanca Records, in 1980. Keb' Mo' was further immersed in the blues with his long stint in the Whodunit Band, headed by Bobby "Blue" Bland producer Monk Higgins. He jammed with Albert Collins and Big Joe Turner and emerged as an inheritor of a guarded tradition and as a genuine original.
In 1994, Keb' Mo' released his self-titled debut album, Keb' Mo', which featured two Robert Johnson covers, "Come On In My Kitchen" and "Kind Hearted Woman Blues," which proved his devotion for the legendary and enigmatic Johnson. This album received critical and popular acclaim. In 1996 he released Just Like You, his second album, which featured twelve songs full of Delta rhythms. He won his first Grammy award for this album, which featured very brief guest appearances from Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt[3]. On the evening of June 10, 1997, he taped a compilation of his best songs on a TV show called Sessions at West 54th. He joined musicians Laval Belle on drums, Reggie McBride playing bass, and Joellen Friedcken on keyboards to perform fourteen songs, some from each of his albums. Legendary blues pianist Dr. John also made a guest appearance. This session (known as Sessions at West 54th: Recorded Live in New York) was shown on television but wasn't released as a DVD or video until late 2000, over three years after the performance itself.
Slow Down, his next album, was released in 1998 and featured twelve songs. It earned him a second Grammy award. The album begins with the song "Muddy Water," a tribute to blues legend Muddy Waters. It also features a song entitled "Rainmaker," previously of his first album from 18 years prior. The song was rerecorded, though there is little difference to the song itself with no lyrical changes at all. His fourth album, The Door, was released in 2000. In 2000, Keb' Mo' released Big Wide Grin, a children's album featuring many songs from Moore's own childhood, along with some newer children's songs and some by Moore himself. In 2003, veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese collaborated with many blues musicians including Keb' Mo' to put together a series of films entitled "The Blues". Following its release, several albums were released in accordance, some were compilations, some new collaborations and Keb' Mo' released an entire album himself in the series featuring a handful of existing recordings from Keb' Mo' to The Door. On February 10, 2004, he released Keep It Simple which earned him a third Grammy award, again in the contemporary blues genre. Later that year he released his sixth studio album, Peace... Back by Popular Demand. His most recent release is Suitcase, dated June 13, 2006. His current touring band consists of Reggie McBride on bass, Les Falconer III on drums, Jeff Paris on keyboards, and Clayton Gibb on guitar..
[edit] Other projects
In 1998 he portrayed the blues legend Robert Johnson in a documentary film, Can't You Hear the Wind Howl?
In 1999 Keb' Mo' portrayed the character Isaac, the Angel of Music, in the episode "Then Sings My Soul" of the highly-acclaimed television series Touched By An Angel. He performed "Hand It Over" from his 1996 release "Just Like You."
In 2004 he participated in the politically-motivated Vote for Change Tour alongside Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne with whom he originally recorded the title track from the album Just Like You.
In 2006 he appeared in the last episode of the West Wing to perform "America the Beautiful."
In January 2007, he performed at the Sundance Film Festival.
He plays the role of the mischievous spirit "Possum" in the 2007 John Sayles movie "Honeydripper"
Keb' Mo' is part of the No Nukes group which is against the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007 the group recorded a music video of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield song For What It's Worth.[4][5]
[edit] Discography
| Released | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Rainmaker | Released under the name "Kevin Moore" |
| June 7, 1994 | Keb' Mo' | Debut album as "Keb' Mo'" |
| June 18, 1996 | Just Like You | Won Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, 1997 |
| August 25, 1998 | Slow Down | Won Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, 1999 |
| October 10, 2000 | The Door | |
| 4 December 2000 | Sessions at West 54th: Recorded Live in New York | Recorded in 1997 |
| June 5, 2001 | Big Wide Grin | Children's album |
| September 19, 2003 | Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Keb' Mo' | Part of the series "The Blues" |
| February 10, 2004 | Keep It Simple | Won Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, 2005 |
| September 21, 2004 | Peace... back by popular demand | |
| June 13, 2006 | Suitcase |
[edit] Other contributions
In 2004, Moore appeared on Amy Grant: Greatest Hits 1986-2004 in a duet with Grant entitled "Come Be With Me", which became a modest success on pop radio. In 2006, he cowrote the song "I Hope" with the Dixie Chicks for their album Taking the Long Way. In 2005 he appeared on Buddy Guy's version "Ain't No Sunshine" along with Tracey Chapman. Moore composed one of the theme songs featured on the show Martha Stewart Living. In 2005, he also appeared on Eric Clapton's album Back Home.
[edit] References
- ^ Henkle, Doug, "FolkLib Index"
- ^ Keb' Mo' Biography on KebMo.net.
- ^ See Just Like You CD sleeve.
- ^ “For What It’s Worth,” No Nukes Reunite After Thirty Years
- ^ Musicians Act to Stop New Atomic Reactors
[edit] External links
- Keb' Mo' - Keb' Mo' Artist Website
- Keb' Mo' at the Internet Movie Database
- Keb' Mo' at TV.com
- More info about Keb' Mo's first album
