Kim Wilson
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (May 2010) |
Kim Wilson | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Detroit, Michigan, United States | January 6, 1951
Genres | Blues |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Vocals, harmonica |
Years active | Late 1960s–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kim Wilson Blues Revue, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Mark Knopfler |
Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player.[1] He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, "Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top 40 hit)[2] and "Wrap It Up." Wilson also wrote "Tuff Enuff."
Career[]
Wilson was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1951,[3] but he grew up in Goleta, California, where he sometimes went by the stage name of "Goleta Slim." He started with the blues in the late 1960s and was tutored by people like Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Albert Collins, George "Harmonica" Smith, Luther Tucker and Pee Wee Crayton and was influenced by harmonica players such as Little Walter, James Cotton, Big Walter Horton, Slim Harpo and Lazy Lester. Before he moved to Austin, Texas, in 1974, he was the leader of the band Aces, Straights and Shuffles in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the band released one single. In Austin he formed the Fabulous Thunderbirds with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.[1] They became the house band at Antone's, a blues club owned by Clifford Antone.
Wilson continues to perform up to 300 concert dates per year at blues music festivals and clubs all over the world, both as leader of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and with Kim Wilson's Blues Allstars.
His powerful style of blues harp playing has been described as "loaded with the textures of a full-blown horn section."[4]
In 2015, Wilson made a guest appearance playing the harmonica on Karen Lovely's album, Ten Miles of Bad Road.[5]
In 2016, Wilson won a Blues Music Award in the 'Instrumentalist - Harmonica' category.[6]
Wilson plays himself in a rare television appearance on Wiseguy, "Sleepwalk" episode, 1989.[7]
Discography[]
Solo[]
- 1993: Tigerman (Antone's)
- 1994: That's Life (Antone's)
- 1997: My Blues (Blue Collar)
- 2001: Smokin' Joint (M.C. Records)
- 2003: Looking for Trouble (M.C. Records)
- 2006: My Blues Sessions: Kim's Mix, Volume I (Bluebeat)
- 2017: Blues and Boogie, Vol. 1 (Severn)
- 2020: Take Me Back - The Bigtone Sessions (M.C. Records)
Guest[]
- Ronnie Earl, Smokin' (1983)
- Roomful of Blues, Dressed Up To Get Messed Up (1984)
- Ronnie Earl, They Call Me Mr. Earl (1984)
- , Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom (1988)
- Kid Ramos, Kid Ramos (1999)
- , Will The Circle Be Unbroken (, 1994)
- James Cotton,
- Bonnie Raitt, Road Tested (1995)
- Big Jack Johnson, (2002)
- JW-Jones, Bogart's Bounce (guest, 2002)
- JW-Jones, My Kind of Evil (producer and guest, 2004)
- , Family Album (Bluelight Records, 2004)
- Barrelhouse Chuck, (2007)
- Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmie Vaughan, (2007)
- Louisiana Red, Back to the Black Bayou (Ruf Records, 2008)
- Elvin Bishop, The Blues Rolls On (2008)
- Eric Clapton, Clapton (Reprise, 2010)
- Mark Knopfler, Privateering (2012)
- Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King, Road Dog's Life (Delta Groove Productions, 2013)
- Barrelhouse Chuck, (2013)
- The Robert Cray Band, 4 Nights of 40 Years (2015)
- Buddy Guy, (2015)
- Thornetta Davis, Honest Woman (2016)
- Peter Karp, Blue Flame (2018)
- Ash Grunwald, Mojo (2019)
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Blues (Second ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 386. ISBN 0-85112-673-1.
- ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 110. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ Fabulous Thunderbirds Archived January 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gallo, Phil (April 6, 1998). "Kim Wilson's Blues Revue". Variety.com.
- ^ "BLUES, Roots, Americana, blues singer songwriter,BMA Nominee Best Contemporary Blues Album,Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist,Song of the Year. 7X Muddy Award Winner. Winner 2nd Place Band 2010 International Blues Challenge. No. 1 Pick to Click XM Radio Bluesville". Karen Lovely. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
- ^ "2016 Blues Music Awards Winner List". Blues411.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
- ^ "Wiseguy - Season 3 Episode 5 - Video Detective". Videodetective.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
External links[]
- American blues singers
- American blues harmonica players
- American male singers
- 1951 births
- Living people
- Harmonica blues musicians
- Texas blues musicians
- People from Goleta, California
- Singers from California
- 20th-century American singers
- 21st-century American singers
- Singers from Detroit
- The Fabulous Thunderbirds members
- 20th-century male singers
- 21st-century male singers