Ellis Hooks

Ellis Hooks
Born 1974 (age 42–43)
Bay Minette, Alabama, United States
Genres Soul blues, electric blues[1]
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active Mid 1990s–present
Labels Evidence, Artemis, Zane

Ellis Hooks (born 1974) is an American soul blues and electric blues singer and songwriter, who has released six albums to date.[1]

The Allmusic journalist, Thom Jurek, noted that Hooks " touches upon Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke, and Otis Redding, but feels like one of the gritty New York streets Hooks has busked upon."[2]

Biography

Hooks was born in Bay Minette, Alabama, United States,[1] to a Cherokee mother and an African American father, who was a Baptist raised sharecropper. He was the thirteenth of sixteen children. By the age of fourteen, Hooks had heard secular music on the radio and left his strict upbringing.[3] Subsequently hitchhiking across the United States, Hooks also travelled around Europe, residing in Paris and Amsterdam, before relocating to New York in his mid-twenties. After busking on the streets of the city, by accident he met the record producer, Jon Tiven,[4] who produced Hooks debut album, Undeniable.[5] Hooks secured headline status at the BBC's World Music Festival in 2003, and opened for Terence Trent D'Arby. Hooks also performed with Carla Thomas at the Montreux Jazz Festival. His 2003 album, Up Your Mind, was nominated for a Blues Music Award.[6]

Uncomplicated (2004) was noted by one reviewer as "somehow both connects with the past while pointing ahead to the future".[7]

The Hand of God (2005) was recorded in New York and Nashville, Tennessee, and had five of its tracks mixed by Dan Penn.[8]

His next recording, Godson of Soul, was also produced by Jon Tiven, and included contributions from Steve Cropper and Wayne Jackson.[9]

Hooks' most recent release was Another Saturday Morning, which was issued in July 2007.[10]

Festival work

In May 2004, Hooks performed at Memphis in May.

Hooks appeared at the Kitchener Blues Festival in August 2014.[11]

Other recordings

In 2003, Hooks recorded his cover version of "Bulbs" for the Van Morrison tribute album, Vanthology: A Tribute to Van Morrison.[12] In addition, Hooks recorded as a backing vocalist on Frank Black's 2005 album, Honeycomb.[13] He performed similar duties in helping Little Milton record his album Think of Me in 2005.[14] In 2006, Hooks backing vocals were part of Frank Black's release, Fast Man Raider Man.

Hooks' co-composed song "40 Days" was recorded by Howard Tate on his 2008 album, Blue Day;[15] whilst Deborah Coleman had earlier recorded Hooks' co-penned song, "Undeniable", for her What About Love? (2004) release.[15]

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Record label
2002 Undeniable Zane
2003 Up Your Mind Evidence
2004 Uncomplicated Artemis
2005 The Hand of God Zane
2005 Godson of Soul Evidence
2007 Another Saturday Morning Evidence

[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Thom Jurek. "Ellis Hooks | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  2. ↑ Thom Jurek (2002-10-01). "Undeniable - Ellis Hooks | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  3. ↑ "Ellis Hooks - Another Saturday Morning". Insurgentcountry.net. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  4. ↑ "Ellis Hooks". LA Phil. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  5. ↑ "Undeniable - Ellis Hooks | Credits". AllMusic. 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  6. ↑ "An Overdose Of Fingal Cocoa: Ellis Hooks". Overdoseoffingalcocoa.blogspot.com. 2004-04-19. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  7. ↑ Kalet, Hank. "Ellis Hooks: Uncomplicated". PopMatters. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  8. ↑ "Artists : Ellis Hooks". Zanerecords.com. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  9. ↑ "Ellis Hooks: Godson Of Soul | Music Review". Slant Magazine. 2005-08-10. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  10. ↑ "Another Saturday Morning - Ellis Hooks | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  11. ↑ "Ellis Hooks". Kitchener Blues Festival. 2012-04-22. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  12. ↑ "Vanthology: A Tribute to Van Morrison CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2003-08-05. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  13. ↑ "Honeycomb - Frank Black | Credits". AllMusic. 2005-07-19. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  14. ↑ "Ellis Hooks | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
  15. 1 2 Hal Horowitz (2004-05-25). "What About Love? - Deborah Coleman | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
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