Bob Corritore (born Robert Joseph Corritore; September 27, 1956) 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 ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

player,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, blues radio show host and owner of The Rhythm Room, a music venue in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Corritore is a recipient of a

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. Handy, " ...

, Blues Blast Music Award, Living Blues Award and a Keeping The Blues Alive Award and more. He produced one album that was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

and contributed harmonica on another.

Early life and education

Corritore was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States, but was raised from infancy in suburban

Wilmette Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...

. At age 12, he began a love affair with the blues after hearing a

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 ...

song on the radio. Shortly thereafter, he received his first harmonica from his younger brother. He took to it immediately and began teaching himself the instrument by playing along with records and using Tony "Little Son" Glover's book, "Blues Harp" -- the go-to instructional volume of the era -- as a guide. As soon as he was old enough, Corritore began attending blues concerts whenever he could, seeing

Sam Lay Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a blues and R&B musician alongside Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted int ...

and Waters perform at his high school and Jim Brewer,

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 ...

, Wild Child Butler and

Detroit Junior Emery Williams Jr. (October 26, 1931 – August 9, 2005), known as Detroit Junior, was an American blues pianist, vocalist and songwriter. He is known for songs such as "So Unhappy", "Call My Job", "If I Hadn't Been High", "Ella" and "Money Tr ...

at venues accessible to under-age patrons before venturing to

Maxwell Street Maxwell Street is an east–west street in Chicago, Illinois, that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee (1988). ...

, the open-air market on Chicago's near South Side, where he caught

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 Big John Wrencher in action. After graduation from

New Trier East High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...

, Bob attended the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

degree. He returned to Chicago, where he worked a job by day and pursued his musical education at night. As his skill and confidence improved in his later teens, he started playing in support of Willie Buck and

Tail Dragger Jones James Yancey Jones (September 30, 1940 – September 4, 2023), known professionally as Tail Dragger Jones, was an American Chicago blues singer. He performed beginning in the 1960s and released four albums. Jones gained a certain notoriety in 1 ...

. His first paying gig came in Buck's band at age 23 alongside Louis and Dave Myers,

Johnny "Big Moose" Walker Johnny "Big Moose" Walker (June 27, 1927 November 27, 1999) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues pianist and organist. He worked with many blues musicians, including Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Lowell Fulson, Choker Campbell ...

Odie Payne Odie Payne (August 27, 1926 – March 1, 1989) was an American Chicago blues drummer. Over his long career he worked with a range of musicians, including Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Little Johnny Jones, Ta ...

Jr. and Taylor.

Career

Early career

Corritore's first live performance came in his teens on Maxwell Street when John Henry Davis invited him to sit in for five or six numbers. He subsequently started attending performances at clubs on the South and West Sides, where he was mentored by Louis Myers,

Lester Davenport Lester "Mad Dog" Davenport (January 16, 1932 – March 17, 2009), was an American Chicago blues harmonica player and singer. Born in Tchula, Mississippi, Davenport moved to Chicago, Illinois, United States, when he was 14. There he played wi ...

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 ...

, Big Leon Brooks,

Little Mack Simmons Malcolm "Little Mack" Simmons (January 25, 1933 – October 24, 2000) was an American Chicago blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. Biography Simmons was born in Twist, Arkansas. In his youth, he befriended James Cotton, and both lear ...

, Big Walter and others, who regularly invited him on stage to play. Corritore began a career in music production in 1979. He recorded harmonica player Little Willie Anderson, creating his own label, Blues On Blues Records, in the process. Released as ''Swinging The Blues'' and produced with the assistance of future Grammy winner

Dick Shurman Richard L. Shurman (born May 23, 1950) is an American record producer, sound engineer, music journalist, music historian, and backing vocalist. He has produced numerous recordings by notable musicians including Johnny Winter, Lurrie Bell, Eddie ...

and

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an independent, American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 as Delmar Records and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, ...

owner

Bob Koester Robert Gregg Koester (October 30, 1932 – May 12, 2021) was an American record producer and businessman who was the founder and owner of Delmark Records, a jazz and blues independent record label. He also operated the Jazz Record Mart in Chi ...

, the LP debuted the same year and was reissued 13 years later in CD format on

Earwig Earwigs make up the insect order (biology), order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cercus, cerci, a pair of forceps-like pincer (biology), pincers on ...

Music. A second release, Big Leon Brooks' ''Lets Go To Town'', followed in 1982.

Phoenix years

In 1981, Corritore relocated to

, where he was joined a few months later by

Louisiana Red Iverson Minter (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012), known professionally as Louisiana Red, was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. A master of slide guitar, he played both traditional a ...

. The pair worked together in duo and full-band formats and lived together for a short period of time before Red relocated to Germany. Corritore subsequently joined a succession of bands fronted by regional favorites Big Pete Pearson,

Janiva Magness Janiva Magness (born January 30, 1957) is an American Grammy Award nominated blues, soul, and Americana singer, songwriter, and author. To date she has released 16 albums. The Blues Foundation named Magness the B.B. King Entertainer of the Yea ...

, Tommy Dukes and Buddy Reed. Years later they worked together again when Corritore produced Louisiana Red's ''Sittin' Here Wonderin' '' (1995) ( Earwig Music). Since 1984, Corritore has been hosting "Those Lowdown Blues," a five-hour Sunday night on

KJZZ (FM) KJZZ (91.5 FM) is a National Public Radio member station in Phoenix, Arizona. Owned by Rio Salado College, it operates from studios on the college's campus in Tempe. KJZZ airs a format of NPR, and blues and airs jazz on its HD2 subchannel. ...

. Two years later, Corritore recruited former Howlin’ Wolf drummer Chico Chism to relocate from Chicago to Phoenix for various band and studio projects, a relationship that endured until his death in 2007. Corritore opened The Rhythm Room music venue in Phoenix in 1991. It has served as his home base ever since. He and hIs house band, the Rhythm Room All-Stars, have backed dozens of high-profile blues musicians, both at the club and in recording sessions, a roster that includes

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Lifet ...

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

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' ...

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 ...

and many others. His first release as a front man, ''All-Star Blues Sessions,'' came in 1999 on the HighTone label with Corritore playing in support of 16 blues artists, including Diddley, Chism,

Robert Lockwood Jr. Robert Lockwood Jr., a.k.a. Robert Jr. Lockwood, (March 27, 1915 – November 21, 2006) was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to hav ...

Henry Gray Henry Gray (1827 – 13 June 1861) was a British anatomist and surgery, surgeon most notable for publishing the book ''Gray's Anatomy''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the age of 25. Biography Gray was born ...

and other talents. That release established Corritore as both a harmonica player and producer in the blues community in a career that has included several subsequent releases under his own name, often sharing billing with other traditional blues artists, including

John Primer John Primer (born March 5, 1945, Camden, Mississippi, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist who played behind Junior Wells in the house band at Theresa's Lounge and as a member of the bands of W ...

, Gray,

Kid Ramos Kid Ramos (born January 13, 1959) is an American electric blues and blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Ramos has released four solo albums since 1995 on Black Top and Evidence Records. He has worked with James Harman, Roomful of ...

and

Dave Riley David Michael Riley (July 30, 1960 – December 24, 2019) was an American musician who was the bassist in the punk rock band Big Black from 1985 until the band's dissolution in 1987. Riley moved to Chicago in 1982 from Detroit, where he had work ...

. As a harmonica player, he has guested on albums by R.L. Burnside,

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who came to prominence in 1967 as a founding member of the rock band Traffic. While with Traffic, he wrote and sang lead vocals on two of the b ...

, Zac Harmon, Louisiana Red,

, Diunna Greenleaf,

Bob Margolin Bob Margolin (born May 9, 1949) is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is Steady Rollin'. Biography Margolin started playing guitar in 1964, and his first appearance on record was with Boston psychedelic band The Freeborne, and ...

, Bill Howl-N-Madd Perry, Dave Specter, Smokin’ Joe Kubek, Mannish Boys, Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Tomcat Courtney, Big Pete Pearson, Sam Lay,

Mud Morganfield Larry "Mud" Morganfield (born September 27, 1954) is an American blues singer. He is the eldest son of Muddy Waters and the half-brother of Big Bill Morganfield. Early life Morganfield was born to McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) and Mildre ...

, Johnny Tucker, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Ben Levin, Tom Walbank, Deb Ryder, Adrianna Marie,

Sugaray Rayford Caron Nimoy "Sugaray" Rayford (born February 13, 1969) is an American soul blues singer and songwriter. He has released five albums to date and been granted three Blues Music Awards. Rayford's 2019 album, ''Somebody Save Me'', was nominated f ...

, Tony Holiday, The Freemonts and several others. And he has served as producer for releases by R.L. Burnside, Mojo Buford,

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. 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 ...

, William Clarke, Chism and compilations released by several labels. The Wilson album -- ''Smokin' Joint,'' released on M.C. Records in 2001 ''--'' was a finalist in the best traditional blues category at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. He has released albums on the HighTone, Blue Witch, Delta Groove and SWMAF labels, as well as his current home, VizzTone. Corritore has appeared at major blues events around the world including

Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the Chicago, Illinois, City of Chicago Department of Cu ...

, Lucerne Blues Festival and Bellinzona Blues Sessions (Switzerland), Edmonton Blues Festival and Calgary Blues Festival (Canada),

King Biscuit Blues Festival The King Biscuit Blues Festival is an annual, multi-day blues festival, held in Helena, Arkansas, United States. History The name of the festival comes from ''King Biscuit Time'', which was the longest running radio show. Sonny Boy Williamson I ...

and Big Blues Bender (U.S.), Bossa Y Jazz and Pocas de Blues (Brazil), Cognac Blues Festival and Bay-Car Blues Festival (France), Marco Fiume Blues Passions Festival (Italy), Moulin Blues Ospel (Holland), Blues At The Savoy (Finland), Hondarribia Blues Festival (Spain), Lahnsteiner Blues Festival (Germany), Boquette Blues Festival (Panama) and more. He has also performed at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, The Strathmore, The Dodge Theater, AVA Amphitheater and other prestigious venues. An official endorser of

Hohner Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). It is a subsidiary of Matth. Hohner AG. The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg ...

harmonicas, Corritore regularly leads harmonics master classes at the Blues Foundation's annual International Blues Challenge week in Memphis. The editor and main writer of the Bob Corritore Blues Newsletter, his 2020 album, ''The Gypsy Woman Told Me'', a partnership with John Primer, was a finalist for traditional blues album of the year in the Blues Blast Music Awards after winning the same honor for ''Don't Let The Devil Ride'' in 2019.

Awards and honors

*1999: Inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame. *2001: Kim Wilson's ''Smokin' Joint'' album, which Corritore produced, was a Grammy finalist in the traditional blues category *2007: Phil Gordon, the

mayor of Phoenix In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

, proclaimed September 29 as "Bob Corritore Day." *2007: Corritore appeared on Pinetop Perkins' ''On The 88s: Live in Chicago'', a finalist in the traditional blues category at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards *2007: Honored by 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 t ...

with a Keeping the Blues Alive Award for his radio work *2007: Blues Music Award nominee along with Dave Riley in the acoustic blues category for their CD, ''Travelin' The Dirt Road'' *2011, 2013 and 2019: Blues Music Award nominee for harmonica player of the year *2012: ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' magazine Readers Poll honoree as harmonica player of the year *2014: Blues411 Jimi Award winner for harmonica player of the year *2016: Blues Music Award nominee along with Henry Gray in the historical album category for their CD, ''Blues Won't Let Me Take My Rest Vol.1'' *2017: Blues Music Award nominee along with Big Jon Atkinson in the traditional album category for their CD, ''House Party At Big Jon's'' *2019: Blues Blast Music Award winner in the traditional album category for ''Don't Let The Devil Ride'' *2020: Blues Blast Music Award nominee along with John Primer in the traditional album category for their CD, ''The Gypsy Woman Told Me'' *2021:

magazine Critics Poll winner in best blues albums of 2020 category along with John Primer for ''The Gypsy Woman Told Me'' *2021: Blues Blast Music Award nominee in the traditional album category for ''Bob Corritore & Friends: Spider in My Stew'' *2021: Blues Blast Music Award nominee in the historical or vintage category along with Henry Gray for ''Cold Chills'' and with Kid Ramos for ''Phoenix Blues Sessions'' *2021: Inducted into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame *2022: Blues Music Award nominee for harmonica player of the year *2022: Blues Music Award nominee in the traditional blues album category for ''Spider in My Stew'' *2022: Blues Blast Music Award nominee in the traditional blues album category along with Louisiana Red for ''Tell Me 'Bout It'' *2022: Blues Blast Music Award winner in the historical or vintage category for ''Down Home Blues Revue'' *2023: Blues Music Award nominee in the traditional album category for Bob Corritore & Friends' ''You Shocked Me'' *2023: Blues Music Award nominee for harmonica player of the year *2023: Living Blues Award nominee for male blues artist of the year *2023: Living Blues Award nominee for most outstanding musician (harmonica) *2023: Blues Blast Music Award winner in the historical or vintage category for Bob Corritore & Friends' ''Women in Blues Showcase''

Discography

Albums

Guest

Producer

References

External links

Official websiteLive performance at the Rhythm Room (2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corritore, Bob 1956 births Living people American blues harmonica players Record producers from Illinois American session musicians American radio DJs Chicago blues musicians Harmonica blues musicians Electric blues musicians Songwriters from Illinois Blues musicians from Illinois Nightclub owners