Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are a Canadian

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

–

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

band with

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

influences. The band was formed in 1996, in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, by Tom Wilson, Stephen Fearing, and Colin Linden.

Career

Early Period: 1990s

Tom Wilson (former lead singer of

Junkhouse Junkhouse is a Canadian rock band, formed during 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario. They released three albums during the 1990s, which spawned numerous charting singles in Canada. They initially disbanded in 1998, and have performed occasional shows afte ...

and Tom Wilson & the Florida Razors), solo artist Stephen Fearing, and guitarist and producer Colin Linden started Blackie and the Rodeo Kings as a tribute to one of their favorite Canadian folk artists, the singer-songwriter

Willie P. Bennett William Patrick "Willie P." Bennett (26 October 1951 – 15 February 2008) was a Canadian folk music, folk-music singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and mandolinist. Bennett was part of the 1970s folk music scene in Canada, and wrote and recorded ...

. Their name was taken from Bennett's 1978 album '' Blackie and the Rodeo King''. What started as a side project soon turned into a full-fledged band after their first album, ''High or Hurtin': The Songs of Willie P. Bennett'', was a critical success and popular with fans of both Bennett and each individual artist. Blackie and the Rodeo Kings have released numerous full-length studio albums and received many awards and nominations. In 1999, the band recorded ''Kings of Love'', which received a Juno Award for Best Roots & Traditional Album – Group in 2000. The band originally performed at such venues as the Black Sheep Inn in

Wakefield, Quebec Wakefield is one of many villages of the municipality of La Pêche, Quebec, La Pêche, with the village centre on the western shore of the Gatineau River, at the confluence of the La Pêche River in the Outaouais (region), Outaouais region of the ...

2000s

In 2003, the band recorded ''Bark''. ''Kings of Love'' and ''Bark'' still had cover versions of Bennett's songs, but they also included some original material by the band members and cover versions of songs by

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to folk- and jazz-influenced rock to soundscapes accompanying spoken stories. His lyrics reflect interests in spirit ...

Fred Eaglesmith Frederick John Elgersma (born July 9, 1957), known by the stage name Fred Eaglesmith, is a Canadian alternative country singer-songwriter. He is known for writing songs about vehicles, rural life, down-and-out characters, lost love and quirky rur ...

and David Wiffen. In 2005, the band was included in a list published by the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' of songs found on President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...

. In 2006, the band recorded ''Let's Frolic!'', consisting of all-original material. In 2008, the band were the winners of the 7th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best band venue poster. It was designed by Michael Wrycraft. In 2009, the compilation album ''Swinging from the Chains of Love'' was released, which included the previously unreleased "Caves of Jericho" and a cover of

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

's " Folsom Prison Blues". For their 2011 album ''Kings and Queens'' the band teamed up with singers

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

Pam Tillis Pamela Yvonne Tillis (born July 24, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She is the eldest child of country singer Mel Tillis. After recording unsuccessful pop material for Elektra Records, Elektra ...

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayl Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, ''Ramblin' on My Mind (Lucinda Williams album), Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (198 ...

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wit ...

Serena Ryder Serena Lauren Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Toronto, she grew up in Millbrook, Ontario. Ryder first gained national recognition with her ballad "Weak in the Knees" in 2007 and has released eight studio ...

and

Patti Scialfa Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into t ...

. Each of the 14 tracks featured a duet with one of the singers. The band then went out on tour in support of the album. In 2012 they performed at the Calgary Folk Music Festival. In 2014, the band released the album ''South'', which was made up of new, original songs, as well a cover of Willie P. Bennett's "Driftin' Snow." Their 2017 album ''Kings and Kings'' revisited the format of their 2011 album ''Kings and Queens'', this time pairing the band with different guest male vocalists. Contributing to the album were

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released seven studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billb ...

City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist, songwrite ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell ( ; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. One of the most celebrated contemporary songwriters in his genre, his lyrics are defined by their raw emotional honesty. Isbell began his career as a me ...

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Raul Malo Raul Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. (born August 7, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He is the lead singer of country music band the Mavericks and the co-writer of many of their singles, as well as Rick Tr ...

(of

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in 1989 along ...

), The Men of Nashville,

Buddy Miller Steven Paul "Buddy" Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in T ...

Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that tra ...

, and Fantastic Negrito.

Accompanying musicians

John Dymond, Bassist for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and other well-known Canadian artists, such as Amanda Wilkinson, the Wilkinsons,

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

and

. Gary Craig: Drummer and percussionist for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. He has performed with numerous Canadian musicians, from

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

Terri Clark Terri Lynn Sauson, known professionally as Terri Clark (born August 5, 1968) is a Canadian country music singer who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that ...

. Richard Bell (March5, 1946,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

June15, 2007,

): Pianist for

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

and

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

. He was the keyboardist for Blackie and the Rodeo Kings for a number of years before his death. Janice Powers has handled occasional keyboard duties as well as various production assistance roles on several albums, and the band has recorded several of her songs. She is also the wife of Colin Linden. John Whynot, who has played with many folk and roots artists, and who has recorded occasionally with the band since their first album now handles keyboard duties.https://www.blackieandtherodeokings.com/about/ "We were honored as always by Gary Craig, Johnny Dymond, John Whynot and the legendary Kenneth Pearson on these songs..." - as close a reference as i have found to these guys being "members" of the band anyway

Discography

Albums

Singles

Contributions to other recordings

*''Borrowed Tunes II: A Tribute to

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

'' includes the band's cover version of "Unknown Legend". All proceeds from this album go to Safe Haven and the Bridge School. *'' Weirdsville Soundtrack'' features their song "Stoned", from the album ''Bark'' (2003). *'' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute to Johnny Cash'' ( NorthernBlues Music, 2003) includes the band's cover version of " Folsom Prison Blues". *'' Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot'' includes the band's cover version of "Summer Side of Love".

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian folk music groups Canadian alternative country groups Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year – Group winners 1996 establishments in Ontario