Lurrie Bell (born Lurrie C. Bell, December 13, 1958,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, United States) is an American blues guitarist and singer. His father was renowned blues harmonica player Carey Bell.

Career

Bell started playing guitar at the age of six, and in his teens he polished his skills playing with the legends of

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

scene including

Eddy Clearwater Edward Harrington (January 10, 1935 – June 1, 2018), better known by his stage name Eddy Clearwater, was an American blues musician who specialized in Chicago blues. ''Blues Revue'' said he plays "joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning s ...

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter 'Shakey' Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

and

Eddie Taylor Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. Biography Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing ...

In the mid 1970s, he went on to join

Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known f ...

's Blues Machine and he toured with the band for four years. He made his recording debut in 1977 appearing on his father's album ''Heartaches and Pain'' and also on Eddie C. Campbell's ''King of the Jungle''.
It was around that time that he formed The Sons of Blues with musicians including

Billy Branch Billy Branch (born William Earl Branch, October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues. Branch is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner, a ...

on harmonica. Three tracks of the band's recordings were featured in the

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 ...

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

''Living Chicago Blues Vol. 3'' released in 1978. In 1989 he released his first solo effort, ''Everybody Wants To Win'', on

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

. Though Bell's career appeared to be headed in the right direction, drawing attention of the blues fans around the world as a young prodigy of the blues, he battled emotional problems and drug abuse for many years, which kept him away from performing on regular basis. He began a comeback in 1995 with the well-received album ''Mercurial Son'', his first of several from the Delmark

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

. A series of albums followed thereafter, and he started to perform more frequently in the Chicago club and blues festival circuits. Bell is featured on ''Gettin' Up – Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's and Lurrie's Home'', a 2007 CD and DVD release from Delmark, where he plays with his father Carey. Soon after this release, Carey died in May 2007 and this became his last recorded effort. In 2014, Bell won a Blues Music Award for his track "Blues in my Soul", in the 'Song of the Year' category. He was nominated for a similar award in four other categories. In 2015, Bell won a Blues Music Award in the 'Traditional Blues Male Artist' category. Bell's 2016 album, '' Can't Shake This Feeling'', was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

. Matthew Skoller's harmonica work featured prominently on the album, and he was the record producer on Bell's earlier ''Let's Talk About Love'' and ''The Devil Ain't Got No Music'' albums.

Discography

Solo

* 1989 ''Everybody Wants to Win'' (JSP) * 1995 ''Mercurial Son'' (Delmark) * 1997 ''700 Blues'' (Delmark) * 1997 ''Young Man's Blues'' (JSP) * 1998 ''Kiss of Sweet Blues'' (Delmark) * 1998 ''The Blues Caravan Live at Pit Inn 1982'' (P-Vine) * 1999 ''Blues Had a Baby'' (Delmark) * 2001 ''Cutting Heads'' (Vypyr) * 2007 ''Let's Talk About Love'' (Aria B.G.) * 2012 ''The Devil Ain't Got No Music'' (Aria B.G.) * 2013 ''Blues in My Soul'' (Delmark) * 2016 '' Can't Shake This Feeling'' (Delmark)

With Carey Bell

* 1977 '' Heartaches and Pain'' (Delmark) released 1994 * 1982 ''Going on Main Street'' (

L+R LR or Lr may refer to: Businesses and organizations *Avianca Costa Rica, an airline, IATA airline code LR *Lenoir–Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina *Lenong Regiment, an infantry regiment of the South African Army *The Republicans (Fra ...

) * 1984 ''Son of a Gun'' (Rooster Blues) * 1986 ''Straight Shoot'' (Blues South West) * 1990 ''Dynasty'' (JSP) * 1994 ''Harpmaster'' (JSP) * 1995 '' Deep Down'' (Alligator) * 1997 ''Father&Son The Blues Collection '' (BLU GNC 072) * 2004 ''Second Nature'' (Alligator) (recorded in 1991) * 2007 ''Gettin' Up, Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's and Lurrie's Home'' (Delmark)

Collaboration with other artists

* 1981 ''American Folk Blues Festival '81 (L+R) * 1982 ''The Sons of Blues Live '82'' (L+R) * 1982 ''Chicago's Young Blues Generation'' (L+R) with Billy Branch * 1991 ''Rocket Pocket'' (Bluelight) with Doobie Twisters * 1998 ''Chicago's Hottest Guitars: Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 25'' (Wolf) with Phil Guy * 2009 ''Live at Chan's: Combo Platter No. 2'' (with Nick Moss & The Flip Tops)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Lurrie 1958 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians African-American guitarists American blues guitarists American blues singers American male guitarists Blues musicians from Illinois Chicago blues musicians Electric blues musicians Guitarists from Chicago Singers from Chicago 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people