Bobby Messano (born June 23, 1954) is an American artist, guitarist and musician. He has recorded and toured with

STARZ Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

Lou Gramm Louis Andrew Grammatico (born May 2, 1950), known professionally as Lou Gramm, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as co-founder and original frontman of the rock band Foreigner from 1976 to 1990 and again from 1992 to 2003, ...

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

,"REVIEW: Guitarist Bobby Messano shows 'em how it's done at Mayfair"
''Allentown Morning Call''. John J. Moser May 25, 2015

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American saxophonist. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Clemons rel ...

, Franke and the Knockouts, and

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is an American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and an occasional vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established th ...

Early life and education

Messano was born in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

and his family lived in nearby

Ridgefield Park, New Jersey Ridgefield Park is a village in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the village's population was 13,224, an increase of 495 (+3.9%) from the 2010 census count of 12,729, which in turn reflected ...

until he went to

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

in Chestertown, Maryland for Music and English.

Career

In 1976, Bobby joined the band Stanky Brown who were signed to

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

and managed by John Scher. Stanky Brown toured with

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

The Allman Brothers The Allman Brothers Band was an American 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 (lead guitar, ...

, Outlaws, and NRPS. He recorded with the band on their third and final record on Sire, called "Stanky Brown". Messano then joined

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

who were signed to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and Aucoin management. Starz toured for 1978-79 and released '' Coliseum Rock''. The band toured with

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...

on his Weekend Warriors Tour, Rush Hemispheres Tour, Styx and headlined shows in the U.S. Bobby then moved into session work, working with

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "I Have a Right, Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am (Broadway mus ...

, playing on his 1982 Let Me Rock You album Michael Pare', Robey, and Benny Mardones. In 1983, Bobby was music director for

on his UK and European tour. He joined Franke & The Knockouts in 1984. In 1985, Bobby started working with

Joe Lynn Turner Joe Lynn Turner (born Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito, August 2, 1951) is an American singer best known for his work with Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Turner joined Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow in the early 1980 ...

and

Fiona Fiona is a feminine given name of Gaelic origins. It means white or fair, while the Irish name ''Fíona'' means 'of wine', being the genitive of 'wine'. It was coined by Scottish writer James Macpherson. Initially, the name was confined to ...

and played on both their CD's '' Rescue You'' and ''

''. He toured with Joe Lynn Turner and played guitar on Fiona's sophomore record ''Beyond The Pale'' and her 2011 release ''Unbroken''. He then played on Glen Burtnick's ''Talking in Code'' record and toured with him. He played guitar on

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

'' album and played the only guitar solo on the LP. In 1987, Messano was asked to tour on the Lou Gramm ( Foreigner) "Ready or Not" tour in the U.S. and Germany. He also was putting the finishing touches on his 1989 ''Messano'' CD which was released by Strategic/Relativity in 1989. In 1990 Bobby toured Germany with Robin Beck. Bobby Messano's first Contemporary Blues CD ''Dominion Roads'' was released on Ichiban/EMI Records in 1998. The label went bankrupt in 2002 and Messano put his material on the fledgling

MP3.com MP3.com was a website operated by Paramount Global publishing tabloid-style news items about digital music and artists, songs, services, and technologies. It is better known for its original incarnation as a legal, free music-sharing service, ...

. He then released ''Dominion Roads'' as the retitled ''Holdin' Ground'' in 2004 on FishHead records, followed by ''Bobby Messano Live in Madison'' in 2008 on his own Prince Frog Records label that was distributed by CD Baby. This was Bobby's first album with Geoff Wilbourn producing. Messano was inducted into the Delaware Blues Hall of Fame in 2012 and ''That's Why I Don't Sing the Blues'' was the #1 U.S. release on the Blues Underground 2012 US Blues Rock Chart. This was Bobby's first studio album working with producer Geoff Wilbourn. Bobby continues to play live solo and band shows and continues to place songs in TV and cable shows. Even though COVID-19 slowed his touring schedule down through 2022, he is back on the road doing 75-100 shows per year. In July/August 2015 ''Love and Money'' was in ''Billboard Top 10 Blues Albums'', for 6 weeks, reaching #1 on August 8. The album was also Top 50 on Three other Billboard Charts. In August 2015 Bobby Messano ''Love & Money'' was nominated for a Blues Blast Award for Rock Blues Album of the Year. This was the third album produced by Geoff Wilbourn. On April 15, 2017 ''Bad Movie'' was released and debuted at #1 on Sirius/XM B.B. King's Bluesville and stayed in the Top 40 on the Roots Music Charts Blues Rock Album Chart for 10 months. On November 16, 2017, Bobby's "Bad Movie" song won a prestigious Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) for Best Blues Album. In October 2018 Bobby played his first headlining solo tour in Europe, doing shows in Holland and Belgium. ''Lemonade'' was released July 12, 2019 on Fish Head/Warner Brothers Records and garnered rave reviews and airplay. In September 2022 Bobby returned to Belgium for a successful week long tour. ''The Songs I Never Sang'' was released on January 29, 2021. It is a collection of Bobby's favorite cover songs done during the COVID pandemic in his home studio. "Music & Other Sundries" Bobby's tenth solo project and his first vinyl album was released on April 15, 2022, and received 3 Grammy First Round Ballots. Produced by Geoff Wilbourn and recorded at Sound Emporium Studios. Eight songs of Bobby's including "WHY YOU LOOKING BACK remain in constant rotation on XM/Sirius BB King's Bluesville Every release of Bobby's since Holding Ground in 2002 has received multiple Grammy First Round ballots. As of October 2023, the total is 59 times in 9 different categories. Bobby’s song “ON THE FIRING LINE” from his 1989 Rock album MESSANO was featured in the HULU/DISNEY+ hit show, “WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALE’S” ON FEBRUARY 2, 2024 MUSIC AND OTHER SUNDRIES was the winner of the "BEST AMERICANA ALBUM" AT THE WORLD ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. ACOUSTIC TRANSITIONS VOLUME 1 was released by Autumn Records on 8/13/2024 It is his ELEVENTH solo album. The song KEY TO THE HIGHWAY was on heavy rotation on Sirius/XM BB King's Bluesville for many months. In September of 2024 Bobby's song "IN THE DEPTHS OF LOVE" won the Unsigned Only Song Competetion for BEST BLUES SONG. Bobby played festivals and shows in Thailand and Jamaica in January and February of 2025. In May of 2025 Bobby's song "IN THE DEPTHS OF LOVE" won an Honorable Mention in the International Song Competetion for BEST BLUES SONG.

Solo Discography

*''Messano'' 1989 *''Dominion Roads'' 1998 (as "Bobby Messano & NBO") *''Holdin' Ground'' 2003 *''Live in Madison'', 2010. *''That's Why I Don't Sing the Blues'', 2011 *''Welcome to Deltaville'', 2013"Bobyy Messano's best yet: Review of Welcome to Deltaville"
''World News''. *''Love and Money'', 2015 *''Bad Movie'' 2017 *''Messano Re-Release (Deluxe Edition) 2019'' *Holdin' Ground Re-Release 2019 *''Lemonade 2019'' *''The Songs I Never Sang 2021'' *''Music & Other Sundries 2022'' *''Acoustic Transitions Volume 1 2024'' *''Still Life (Release TBA) 2025''

References

External links

''Official Site''"Bobby Messano , Discography , AllMusic"
''AllMusic''.
"Bobby Messano , Credits , AllMusic"
''AllMusic''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Messano, Bobby Living people People from Ridgefield Park, New Jersey Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey Guitarists from New Jersey American male guitarists The Shadows of Knight members 1954 births