Curtis Salgado (born February 4, 1954, in Everett,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States) is a Portland, Oregon-based

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

, and

blue-eyed soul Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists. The term was coined in the mid-1960s, to describe white artists whose sound was similar to that of the predominantly-black Motown and Stax ...

singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist.

Career

Salgado began his career leading The Nighthawks, based in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

. He then joined forces with

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was statione ...

and sang and played harmonica in The Robert Cray Band for six years, including singing on Cray's debut album, released in 1980. Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982. Salgado went on to front Roomful of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. Returning to Oregon, he formed Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos in 1991 on the JRS label. The band opened for The Steve Miller Band during the summer of 1992. In 1995, Curtis spent a short stint as the lead singer with the band Santana. In 1997, he and Portland guitarist

Terry Robb Terry Robb is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist, composer, arranger and record producer living in the United States. He plays electric and acoustic guitar, and is associated with the American Primitive Guitar genre through his collaboration with ste ...

toured with

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

to promote their album ''Hit It 'n Quit It,'' including an appearance with Miller on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television show ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' where Salgado and Robb performed their original composition "Bitter Tears." He signed with

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distrib ...

in 1999 and released four albums on that label, before signing with Chicago's

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

in 2012. Salgado was the inspiration behind

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...

's creation of the

Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respectiv ...

characters in the late 1970s. They met and became friends while Belushi was in

filming the movie ''

Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hulc ...

''. The Blues Brother's debut album ''

Briefcase Full of Blues ''Briefcase Full of Blues'' is the debut album by The Blues Brothers, released on November 28, 1978, by Atlantic Records. It was recorded live on September 9, 1978, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, when the band opened for comedian S ...

'' is dedicated to Salgado, and

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalis ...

's character in ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...

'' film is named after Curtis. Salgado was diagnosed with

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

in 2005, and underwent a successful liver transplant in 2006. He continues to record and perform his music. On June 13, 2006, a benefit concert was held in his honor in Portland to raise funds for his medical treatment. Among those who performed were

Little Charlie & the Nightcats Little Charlie & the Nightcats was an American electric blues and swing revival combo, active from 1976-2008. Several members reformed as Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Biography Charles Baty (1953–2020) was studying mathematics at Univ ...

, Everclear,

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...

The Robert Cray Band Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was statione ...

, and Steve Miller. Also in attendance was the widow of

who spoke of Salgado's part in the development of The Blues Brothers. On April 29, 2007, another benefit was held in Curtis' honor, bringing Steve Miller and Little Charlie and the boys back, and adding

Jimmie Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...

, and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

players

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal ...

and Kim Wilson. Salgado was nominated for four of the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...

's 2009

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Hand ...

s, including Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year and Soul Blues Album of the year for his album, ''Clean Getaway''. In 2010, Salgado won the Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year award, which he won again in 2012. In 2013, he won the Blues Music Award for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Soul Blues Male Artist and ''Soul Shot'' won Soul Blues Album of the Year. In 2013, Salgado was nominated for a Blues Music Award in four separate categories. In 2017, Salgado won three Blues Music Awards in different categories.

Discography

* 1991 ''Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos'' (JRS) * 1995 ''More Than You Can Chew'' (

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row ...

) * 1997 ''Hit It 'N Quit It'' (Curtis Salgado &

) ( Lucky Records) * 1999 ''Wiggle Outta This'' (

) * 2001 ''Soul Activated'' (Shanachie Records) * 2004 ''Strong Suspicion'' (Shanachie Records) * 2008 ''Clean Getaway'' (Shanachie Records) * 2012 ''Soul Shot'' (

) * 2016 ''The Beautiful Lowdown'' (Alligator Records) * 2018 ''Rough Cut'' (Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager) (Alligator Records) * 2021 ''Damage Control'' (Alligator Records)

References

External links

Salgado's personal website

Oregon Art Beat: An Interview With Bluesman Curtis Salgado
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salgado, Curtis 1954 births Living people American blues singer-songwriters American blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians Singer-songwriters from Oregon People from Everett, Washington Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) Liver transplant recipients Alligator Records artists

Career

See also

Discography

References

External links