Elvin Bishop grew up on a farm in Iowa with no electricity and no
running water. His family moved to Oklahoma when he was ten. Raised in
an all-white community, he had no exposure to blacks or their music
except though the radio, and the piercing sound of Jimmy Reed's harmonica
got his attention. When he won a scholarship to the University of
Chicago, he found himself in the heart of the Chicago blues scene, and
he sunk himself totally into the blues life.
Dropping out after two years of college, Howlin' Wolf (aka Howlin' Wolf)
guitarist Smokey Smothers befriended Bishop and taught him the basics
of blues guitar. In the early '60s he teamed up with Paul Butterfield to become
the core of the Butterfield Blues Band. They began to become well known
in 1963 when they took a job at Big John's on Chicago's North Side.
When he left the Butterfield band in 1968, Bishop relocated to San
Francisco, where he appeared at the Fillmore Theater with artists like
Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix. He recorded four albums for Epic and
signed with Capricorn in 1974. His recording of "Traveling Shoes" (from
the album Let It Flow) hit the charts, and he scored big with "Fooled
Around and Fell in Love" in 1976.
Over the years Bishop has graced the albums of many great bluesmen
including Clifton Chenier and John Lee Hooker. He toured with B.B. King in 1995. Bishop
is known for his sense of humor, his unique style of slide guitar and a
fusion of blues, gospel, R&B and country flavors. He lives with his
family in the San Francisco area and continues to tour in the U.S. and
abroad.
