Chico Banks (March 7, 1962 – December 3, 2008) was an American

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

guitarist and singer. He released one album, in 1997 on

Evidence Music Evidence Music is an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1992 by Howard Rosen and Jerry Gordon. The label's name comes from the song "Evidence" by Thelonious Monk. The label's first releases were reissues of Sun Ra albums from the ca ...

, produced by Larry Hoffman. Banks was both a band leader and sideman, having played with Chicago's blues musicians from his late teens until his death at the age of 46. He is best known for his tracks "Your Fine" and "Candy Lickin' Man". He was the son of the guitarist Jessie Banks, who played backing for the

Mighty Clouds of Joy The Mighty Clouds of Joy were an American traditional gospel music quartet. Career The Mighty Clouds of Joy was formed in 1959 in Los Angeles as a tradition-based style group. It wasn't until 1961 as the group became famous, they added bass, ...

. One commentator noted that Banks "focuses on good-time, upbeat blues". He was an influence on the guitarist and singer

Reggie Sears Reggie Sears (born April 12, 1991) is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer, and a former child prodigy blues guitarist Early life Sears was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. He was inspired to play blues guitar ...

Biography

He was born Vernon X. Banks in Chicago, Illinois. Banks was inspired by

Magic Sam Samuel Gene Maghett (February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969), known as Magic Sam, was an American Chicago blues musician. He was born in Grenada County, Mississippi, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters 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 ...

Albert King Albert King ( Nelson; April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

Otis Clay Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, to a musical fami ...

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

and

Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis (born Tyrone D. Fettson or Tyrone D. Branch, October 3, 1937 – February 9, 2005) (although many sources have his date of birth as May 4, 1938), was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more th ...

. His blues guitar playing incorporated

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

stylings. He first played in a covers group in his mid-teens. He later worked with Guy and Clay plus Melvin Taylor,

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. ...

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his List of number-one R&B singles of 1965 (U.S.), number-one R&B single "We're Gonna Ma ...

Magic Slim Morris Holt (August 7, 1937 – February 21, 2013), known as Magic Slim, was an American blues singer and guitarist. Born at Torrance, near Grenada, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers, he followed blues greats such as Muddy Waters and How ...

, and

Big Time Sarah Sarah Streeter (January 31, 1953 – June 13, 2015), better known by her stage name Big Time Sarah, was an American blues singer. Biography She was born in Coldwater, Mississippi, and raised in Chicago, where she sang in gospel choirs in South ...

. He contributed to the album ''Long Way to Ol' Miss'', by

Willie Kent Willie Kent (February 24, 1936 – March 2, 2006) was an American Chicago blues singer, bassist and songwriter. Career Kent was born in Inverness, Sunflower County, Mississippi. Although he had played the bass guitar in Chicago's clubs since the ...

(1996), as well as to the album ''Back in Chicago'' by

Freddie Roulette Frederick Martin Roulette (May 3, 1939 – December 24, 2022) was an American electric blues lap steel guitarist and singer. He was best known as an exponent of the lap steel guitar. He was a member of the band Daphne Blue and collaborated with E ...

, which featured

and the Gents. His debut album, ''Candy Lickin' Man'', including vocals by

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...

, was produced by Larry Hoffman, and released by

Evidence Records Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what justifi ...

in 1997. Banks played on

Lee "Shot" Williams Henry Lee "Shot" Williams (May 21, 1938 – November 25, 2011) was an American blues singer. He got the nickname "Shot" from his mother at a young age, owing to his fondness for wearing suits and dressing up as a "big shot." Biography Williams ...

's album ''Let the Good Times Roll'' in 2002 and on Tyrone Davis's album ''Come to Daddy'' in 2003. In 2007, Banks underwent surgery for a faulty heart valve. He died in Chicago in December 2008, at the age of 46.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Chico 1962 births 2008 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists Chicago blues musicians American session musicians 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Chicago 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians

Biography

See also

References