Harmonica Hinds
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Harmonica Hinds (born Mervyn H.G. Hinds, January 4, 1945) is a Trinidadian-American blues singer and musician. He moved from
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
to Canada and then settled permanently 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 ...
. He was influenced by blues musicians and started playing harmonica at an early age. He became known in the 1970s, when he played on the house band of Theresa's Lounge in Chicago. He shared the stage with and played on albums by many blues musicians for more than five decades, making his first recording in 2008. Further recordings were made in 2010 and 2012. He has been described as one of the most talented
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 ...
musicians and remains active on the Chicago blues scene.


Life and career

Hinds, born in Trinidad, moved from his birthplace to
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
, Canada, and then to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. He moved to Chicago in 1977 and then to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
from 1976 to 1983, and then permanently back to Chicago. Hinds was first captivated with blues harmonica while in Canada when he saw
Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occas ...
play. He started playing the harmonica between the age of seven and nine. He started singing the blues in 1968. He received his first music lesson on the street from
Lafayette Leake Lafayette Leake (June 1, 1919 – August 14, 1990) was an American blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of ...
while living in Toronto. When he was studying sociology at
Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...
in Ottawa,
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. ...
invited him to Chicago. He was also encouraged by New Orleans musicians David Lastie and
George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...
. Hinds became known in the 1970s when he played in the house band of the famed Theresa's Lounge in Chicago, often sharing the stage with
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 ...
. He played on the album ''Muddy Waters: The Hoochie Coochie Man'', produced in 1984. He has played on albums for many other blues artists, including Koko Taylor, Eddie Taylor, and Mud Morganfield, and has appeared on stage with many blues musicians, including
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 ...
,
Willie "Big Eyes" Smith Willie Lee "Big Eyes" Smith (January 19, 1936 – September 16, 2011) was an American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer. He was best known for several stints with the Muddy Waters band beginning in the early 1960s. Biograp ...
,
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 ...
,
Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
,
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
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 ...
. Hinds has worked as a blues musician for more than five decades. He remains active on the Chicago blues scene with his own shows and often performed with Eddie Taylor Jr. He continues to play a regular gig at Buddy Guy's Legends. He performed at the 14th, 15th, 20th, 24th, 29th, 30th and 31st
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 ...
.


Music and performance style

''
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 ...
'' reviewer Jim DeKoster described Hinds's first album, ''Finall'' (self-produced under
CD Baby CD Baby, Inc. is a Portland, Oregon based online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. It was established in 1998 and offered distribution fo ...
), as "one of the most enjoyable albums in the classic Chicago blues style to come down the pike lately". ''Blues Revue'' critic James Porter, reviewing ''Finally'', wrote that Hinds is "one of the most talented musicians on today's Chicago scene." Critic Matthew Warnock, in a review of Hinds's album ''Anything if I Could'', wrote that Hinds and his band understood the "key emotion that makes the blues the legendary music that it is" and played with "emotional intent behind each note."


Discography

*''Finally'' (CD Baby/Joyride, 2008) *''From the Country to the City'', with Eddie Taylor Jr. (Tre - Wolf Records International, 2009) *''I Would Give You Anything If I Could'' (CD Baby, Wolf Records International, 2010, 2014) *''If Speed Was Just a Thought'' (2012)


References


External links


- Chicago Tribune photo one of Harmonica Hinds at the Chicago Blues Festival 2014- Chicago Tribune photo two of Harmonica HInds at the Chicago Blues Festival 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinds, Harmonica 1945 births Living people 21st-century American singers Blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians Chicago blues musicians