Tinsley Ellis (born June 4, 1957) is an American

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 rock musician, who was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States, and grew up in

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. According to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', "nobody has released more consistently excellent blues albums than Atlanta's Tinsley Ellis. He sings like a man possessed and wields a mean lead guitar." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' said, "On assertive originals and standards by the likes of

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

and

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr.; December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

, Atlanta's Tinsley Ellis unleashes feral blues guitar. Nonstop gigging has sharpened his six-string to a razor's edge…his eloquence dazzles…he also achieves pyrotechnics that rival early

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

Biography

His love for electric blues grew by listening to

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

bands such as

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

the Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

, and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. Ellis has stated that the first guitar playing he heard were songs like " Dirty Water" by

The Standells The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and are said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and ...

, and " Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers, but that he then "got into the real stuff" like

Freddie King Freddie King (born Fred Christian; September 3, 1934December 28, 1976), also billed as Freddy King, was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King a ...

. Inspired by a live appearance by

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

, where King broke a guitar string and gave it to a 15-year-old Ellis - which Ellis claims to still have in his possession to this day - he was determined to become a blues guitarist. In 1975, he played with the Haygood Band while attending

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

near Atlanta. Two years later, already an accomplished musician, he returned to Atlanta and joined his first professional blues band, the Alley Cats, a group that included Preston Hubbard (later of

the Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American blues rock band formed in 1974. Singer Kim Wilson is the only constant member through the band's entire history. Their 1986 album ''Tuff Enuff'' sold over a million copies, and spawned two minor hit singl ...

). Ellis graduated from Emory in 1979 with a degree in history. In 1981, he formed the Heartfixers, with the singer and harmonica player Chicago Bob Nelson. The group recorded three albums for the small Landslide record label, one with the singer,

Nappy Brown Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp (October 12, 1929 – September 20, 2008) better known by his stage name Nappy Brown, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singing, singer. His hit record, hits include the 1955 ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard' ...

before breaking up in 1988. The same year, Ellis signed a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with Chicago's Alligator Records. His debut solo album on Alligator Records, ''Georgia Blue'', was released in 1988. It received mixed-to-poor reviews. Alligator then reissued two earlier albums, ''Cool On It'' and '' Tore Up'' (on which the Heartfixers backed Nappy Brown). Ellis' next four releases were ''Fanning the Flames'' (1989), '' Trouble Time'' (1992), ''Storm Warning'' (1994), and '' Fire It Up'' (1997). Artists including

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...

(of

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

), Derek Trucks, and Chuck Leavell joined him in the studio. He worked with the record producers, Eddy Offord and

Tom Dowd Thomas John Dowd (October 20, 1925 – October 27, 2002) was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multitrack recording method. Dowd worked on a veritable "who's who" of recordings ...

. Ellis' reputation and media coverage continued to grow. He appeared on

NBC-TV The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Sports during the network's

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

coverage. Ellis shifted to

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio fou ...

in 2000 and released '' Kingpin''. In 2002 he joined Telarc Records, producing two CDs: '' Hell or High Water'' and '' The Hard Way''. All the while Ellis never stopped touring. "A musician never got famous by staying home," Ellis says. Ellis claims to have performed live, at least once, in all 50 of the United States. He returned to Alligator Records in 2005 with the live album, '' Live – Highwayman''. In 2007 he released the studio album, '' Moment of Truth'', followed in 2009 with '' Speak No Evil''. Ellis continues to tour over 150 nights a year around the world. He has shared stages with

Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was ...

Widespread Panic Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell (musician), John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJ ...

the Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

, Jimmy Thackery, Otis Rush,

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

, Son Seals, Koko Taylor,

Albert Collins Albert Gene Collins (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993)Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. He was noted for his powerful playing ...

and

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

. In early 2013, Ellis was a part of the 'Blues at the Crossroads 2' tour which celebrated the music of

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

and

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

. The tour also included Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds,

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

, Bob Margolin and

Jody Williams Jody Williams (born October 9, 1950) is an American political activist known for her work in banning anti-personnel landmines, her defense of human rights (especially those of women), and her efforts to promote new understandings of securit ...

. Also in 2013, Ellis launched his own label, Heartfixer Music, and has since released several albums: the all instrumental ''Get It!'', ''Midnight Blue'', ''Tough Love'' and, in 2016, ''Red Clay Soul''. In 2014, Ellis was a guest performer on Eli Cook's album, '' Primitive Son''. In 2017, Ellis launched a new side project called Tinsley Ellis Blues Is Dead, in which he performs the blues and R&B songs recorded by

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

and other Fillmore era acts. Commenting on Ellis's album, ''Ice Cream in Hell'',

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated "On Ice Cream in Hell, Ellis' songwriting and singing finally match the prowess in his playing, and we are all richer for it." During the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Ellis was "determined to grow as a songwriter," according to AllMusic; he is stated to have written 200 songs in just a year and a half. The resulting album, ''Devil May Care,'' released in January 2022, was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews. Ellis announced the pending release of a new album, ''Naked Truth,'' in November 2023, after a series of well-received acoustic shows throughout the year. The album, which was also his first composed entirely of acoustic music, was released on February 9, 2024. Ellis released a single, "Devil In The Room", after making the announcement.

Discography

*1982: ''Featuring Chicago Bob Nelson'' (with The Heartfixers) *1983: ''Live at the Moonshadow'' (with The Heartfixers) *1984: ''Tore Up'' (with Nappy Brown and The Heartfixers) *1986: ''Cool on It'' (with The Heartfixers) *1988: ''Georgia Blue'' *1989: ''Fanning the Flames'' *1992: '' Trouble Time'' *1994: ''Storm Warning'' *1997: ''Fire it Up'' *2000: '' Kingpin'' *2002: '' Hell or High Water'' *2004: '' The Hard Way'' *2005: '' Live – Highwayman'' *2007: '' Moment of Truth'' *2009: '' Speak No Evil'' *2013: ''Get It!'' *2014: ''Midnight Blue'' *2015: ''Tough Love'' *2016: ''Red Clay Soul'' *2018: ''Winning Hand'' *2020: ''Ice Cream In Hell'' *2022: ''Devil May Care'' *2024: ''Naked Truth''

Compilations

*1996 – ''A Celebration of Blues: The New Breed''

References

External links

*
Tinsley Ellis at Alligator RecordsTinsley Ellis Interview on TheWaster.comThe Daily Times Tinsley Ellis Interview/review
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Tinsley 1957 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers Musicians from Atlanta Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Southland Records artists Alligator Records artists Capricorn Records artists