Curtis Salgado (born February 4, 1954, in Everett, Washington, United States) is a Portland, Oregon-based

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 ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

, and blue-eyed soul 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 and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. He then joined forces with Robert Cray 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 The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock rad ...

during the summer of 1992. In 1995, Curtis spent a short stint as the lead singer with the band

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

. In 1997, he and Portland guitarist Terry Robb 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 equivalents ...

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 commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television show ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...

'' 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 distr ...

in 1999 and released four albums on that label, before signing with Chicago's Alligator Records in 2012. Salgado was the inspiration behind

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

's creation of the Blues Brothers 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 (writer), Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom ...

''. The Blues Brother's debut album '' Briefcase Full of Blues'' is dedicated to Salgado, and

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

's character in ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

'' 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 in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

in 2005, and underwent a successful

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

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, Everclear,

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

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 stationed at ...

, 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, and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has 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 orchestras or ...

players

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American blues harmonica player and bandleader who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago ...

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 t ...

'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. Handy, " ...

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. At the 2023 Blues Music Awards, Salgado was named as 'Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year'.

Discography

* 1991: ''Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos'' (JRS Records) * 1995: ''More Than You Can Chew'' (Rhythm Safari/

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, ...

) * 1997: ''Hit It 'N' Quit It'', Curtis Salgado & Terry Robb ( Lucky Records) * 1999: ''Wiggle Outta This'' (

) * 2001: ''Soul Activated'' (Shanachie) * 2004: ''Strong Suspicion'' (Shanachie) * 2008: ''Clean Getaway'' (Shanachie) * 2012: ''Soul Shot'' ( Alligator Records) * 2016: ''The Beautiful Lowdown'' (Alligator) * 2018: ''Rough Cut'', Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager (Alligator) * 2021: ''Damage Control'' (Alligator) * 2024: ''Fine By Me'' (Little Village Foundation)

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