Kirk Fletcher (born December 23, 1975) is an American

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

guitarist, singer, and songwriter. To date, Fletcher has released six studio albums and one live album. In addition, he has variously been a member of

the Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American blues rock band formed in 1974. Singer Kim Wilson is the only constant member through the band's entire history. Their 1986 album ''Tuff Enuff'' sold over a million copies, and spawned two minor hit singl ...

and

the Mannish Boys The Mannish Boys is an United States, American blues band based in Los Angeles. They play classic blues in West Coast blues, West Coast, Texas blues, Texas and Chicago blues, Chicago styles. Founded by bandleader Randy Chortkoff, the band is n ...

, plus supplied backing for

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his inde ...

and

Eros Ramazzotti Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti (; born 28 October 1963) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in bo ...

. Fletcher has been nominated for four

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 and was a 2015 British Blues Awards nominee. His album, ''Hold On'', was self-released in October 2018. It reached number 12 in the ''

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 ...

'' radio chart, and entered at number 15 in the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Blues Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

. It was nominated in 2019 for a Blues Music Award in the 'Contemporary Blues Album' category.

Biography

Kirk Fletcher was born in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and municipal corporation, incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

, United States. He was the younger son of a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister, and gained enough confidence from watching his elder sibling, Walter, perform at their father's church, that Kirk learned to play rudimentary guitar by the age of eight. Fletcher was a member of a jazz band during high school, and later played with his friends on road trips in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. In Los Angeles he met

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock music, rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets (band), Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harriso ...

's guitar technician, Jeff Rivera, in a small music shop, and was impressed with Ford's expertise on guitar. Later through spending time with Al Blake, who was the lead singer and harmonica player for the

Hollywood Fats Michael Leonard Mann (March 17, 1954 – December 8, 1986),Liner notes from Al Blake's album ''Dr. Blakes Magic Soul Elixir'' by Eric LeBlanc known as Hollywood Fats, was an American blues guitarist, active in Los Angeles, California. Biogra ...

Band, helped establish connections with other

West Coast blues West Coast blues is a type of blues music influenced by jazz and jump blues, with strong piano-dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated from Texas blues players who relocated to California in the 1940s. West Coast blues also f ...

musicians such as

Junior Watson Junior Watson is an American jump blues guitarist and singer. Career Watson is a West Coast blues guitarist. He was a founding member of the blues band The Mighty Flyers and, starting in the early 1980s, he performed with the band for a decade. ...

and

Lynwood Slim Lynwood Slim (born Richard Dennis Duran, August 19, 1953, Los Angeles, California; died August 4, 2014) was an American blues harmonica player and singing, singer. Slim was best known as a singer in the style of smooth easy jazz/blues, as well as ...

. Fletcher became adept enough on the guitar to perform himself at gigs, and he recorded his debut album ''I'm Here & I'm Gone'' (1999) for

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

. Blake introduced Fletcher to

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 ...

, which led to Fletcher playing guitar in Kim Wilson's Blues Revue. Touring duties followed and then Fletcher played on Wilson's

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 ...

-nominated live album, ''Smokin' Joint'' (2001). Shortly afterwards, Fletcher was invited to collaborate with

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 ...

. Fletcher stated "This is where I really developed my own sound and Charlie was cool with me being me." In 2003, Fletcher's second album, ''Shades of Blue'' was released by

CrossCut Records CrossCut Records is a German independent record label, that was created in 1981 specializing in blues and roots music. Background The CrossCut Mailorder service, a division of Bear Family Records, is one of the world's leading sources for blues ...

and then on

Delta Groove Productions Delta Groove Productions is an American blues record label in Van Nuys, California, United States. The label was founded by Randy Chortkoff ( Rand Jay Chortkoff; 1949–2015), a producer, concert promoter, and harmonica player. Chortkoff's biog ...

the following year. Guests on the recording included the singers Kim Wilson,

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 ...

and

Finis Tasby Finis Tasby (February 1, 1939 – November 2, 2014) was a Los Angeles based blues singer and frontman for the group The Mannish Boys. Background and career There is some confusion over his birth details, depending on which source is referenced. ...

. An opening appeared to join the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Fletcher played in the band from 2005 until 2008. The opportunities that unfolded led Fletcher into a brief stint with Doyle Bramhall and a few guest appearances playing alongside

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

and

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals with Santana for their 2002 single, " The Game of Love". As a solo recording artist, Bran ...

. Fletcher played on the Fabulous Thunderbirds 2005 album, '' Painted On''. In 2006, Fletcher appeared with

Nick Curran Nick Curran (September 30, 1977 – October 6, 2012) was an American blues/rock and roll singer and guitarist. He has been likened to T-Bone Walker, Little Richard, The Sonics, Doug Sahm, Misfits (band), Misfits Eddie Cochran Early life Ni ...

at the

Notodden Blues Festival Notodden Blues Festival (NBF) is one of the largest blues music festivals in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. The festival is held in Notodden, Norway, usually the first weekend August. It has been running annually since 1988. The festival ...

. In 2009, a tenth anniversary reissue of ''I'm Here & I'm Gone'' came out with bonus tracks. The same year, Fletcher and his band performed at Dark Season Blues in Norway. ''My Turn'' (2010) was Fletcher's third album. It contained tracks penned by

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

Jesse Ed Davis Jesse Edwin Davis III (September 21, 1944 – June 22, 1988) was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Bob Dylan, Eri ...

, Jimmy Johnson,

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...

, Will Felder, and Travis Carlton. Fletcher also recorded three of his own compositions. With his guitar playing producer

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record-producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitchel ...

, plus the horns of saxophonist Paulie Cerra and trumpeter Paul Litterall, Fletcher tackled Reed's "I Found Love," plus Stone's "Let Me Have It All". The album also contained Kirk's first recorded vocal performance. From that point onward, Fletcher was able to front his own band on tours, and undertake some international tours, both as a member of

The Mannish Boys The Mannish Boys is an United States, American blues band based in Los Angeles. They play classic blues in West Coast blues, West Coast, Texas blues, Texas and Chicago blues, Chicago styles. Founded by bandleader Randy Chortkoff, the band is n ...

and as lead guitarist for the Italian musician

. In 2014, Fletcher self-released the live collection, ''Burning Blues (Live at the Baked Potato)''. ''

Live at the Greek Theater The videography of Il Divo composes by the documentaries or concerts published in format DVD, Blu-ray or Digital distribution, digital format, or by the videos musical officials, that have published by the discográficas associated to the quart ...

'' (2016) was filmed and recorded during

's "Three Kings Tour" in 2015, which culminated at the

Greek Theatre A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as par ...

in Los Angeles. The backing ensemble comprised Fletcher (rhythm guitar),

Anton Fig Anton Fig (born 8 August 1952) is a South African session drummer perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band. David Letterman, for whom the band served as house band on his lat ...

(drums), Michael Rhodes (bass),

Reese Wynans Reese Wynans (born November 28, 1947) is an American Keyboardist, keyboard player, who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond. In 2015, he was inducted into t ...

(piano, Hammond organ), Lee Thornburg (trumpet, horn arrangements), Paulie Cerra (saxophone), Nick Lane (trombone), and backing singers

Mahalia Barnes Mahalia Violet Barnes (born 12 July 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter, the daughter of Scottish-Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes and Jane Mahoney. She began performing as part of children's pop group The Tin Lids with siblings, Eli ...

Jade MacRae Jade Aurora MacRae is an Australian Soul music, soul singer and the daughter of professional musicians Joy Yates and Dave MacRae. MacRae is best known for her top 40 singles "So Hot Right Now (Jade MacRae song), So Hot Right Now" and "Superstar ...

, and Juanita Tippins. In 2018, Fletcher recorded a video with Josh Smith and Joe Bonamassa, performing the

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 ...

track "

Crosscut Saw A crosscut saw (thwart saw) is any saw designed for cutting wood perpendicular to (across) the wood grain. Crosscut saws may be small or large, with small teeth close together for fine work like woodworking or large for coarse work like log b ...

". Fletcher's album, ''Hold On'', was released in October 2018. It reached number 12 in the ''Living Blues'' radio chart, and entered at number 15 in the ''Billboard'' Blues Albums chart. It was nominated in 2019 for a Blues Music Award in the 'Contemporary Blues Album' category.

Discography

Selected other recordings

*1999: ''The Henry Gray/Bob Corritore Sessions, Vol. 1: Blues Won't Let Me Take My Rest'' :

Bob Corritore Bob Corritore (born Robert Joseph Corritore; September 27, 1956) is an American blues harmonica player, record producer, blues radio show host and owner of The Rhythm Room, a music venue in Phoenix, Arizona. Corritore is a recipient of a Blues Mu ...

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 ...

: Guitar *2000: ''World Wide Wood'' :

: Guitar *2001: ''Smokin' Joint'' :

: Guitar *2003: ''Lonesome Moon Trance'' :

James Harman James Gary Harman (June 8, 1946 – May 23, 2021) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. The music journalist Tony Russell described Harman as an "amusing songwriter and an excellent, unfussy blues harp player". Biograp ...

: Guitar *2004: ''That Represent Man'' :

: Guitar *2005: '' Painted On'' :

The Fabulous Thunderbirds The Fabulous Thunderbirds is an American blues rock band formed in 1974. Singer Kim Wilson is the only constant member through the band's entire history. Their 1986 album ''Tuff Enuff'' sold over a million copies, and spawned two minor hit singl ...

: Guitars *2006: ''Last Call'' :

: Guitar, Vocals (Background) *2007: ''Big Plans'' :

: Guitar *2009: ''Simple Things'' :

Chantelle Barry Chantelle Barry (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian musician and actress from Perth, Western Australia, Perth, best known for being in the original line-up of girl group Bardot (Australian band), Bardot before leaving the group suddenly under ...

: Guitar (Electric) *2010: ''Live on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise'' :

Joe Louis Walker Louis Joseph Walker Jr. (December 25, 1949 – April 30, 2025), known as Joe Louis Walker, was an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his u ...

: Guitar, Featured Artist *2010: ''Shake for Me'' :

: Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) *2012: ''Longtime Friends in the Blues'' :

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 ...

: Guitar *2012: ''Double Dynamite'' :

: Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm) *2012: ''Close to the Bone: Unplugged'' :

Bnois King Bnois King (born January 21, 1943) (pronounced "buh-noise")Smokin' Joe Kubek Smokin' Joe Kubek (November 30, 1956 – October 11, 2015) was an American Texas blues electric guitarist, songwriter and performer. Biography Born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, Kubek grew up in the Dallas, Texas area. In the 1970s during his tee ...

: Guitar (Acoustic) *2013: ''Shiver and Sigh'' :

Kara Grainger Kara Grainger is an Australian soul blues and roots rock singer-songwriter, based out of Nashville, Tennessee, United States. She played with the Papa Lips band starting in 1994. In 1998, they were awarded the "Best New Band" award at the Austra ...

: Guitar (Rhythm) *2014: ''Wrapped Up and Ready'' :

: Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Soloist *2015: ''Bonetime'' :

: Guitar *2015: ''Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks'' :

: Guitar *2016: ''

'' :

: Guitar (Rhythm) *2016: ''Hard Times, Bad Decisions'' : Lisa Mann : Featured Artist, Guitar *2016: ''Near Life Experience'' :

Scott Kinsey Scott Kinsey is a keyboardist and member of the band Tribal Tech. He is a 1991 graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Career In addition to playing in Tribal Tech with Scott Henderson and Gary Willis, Kinsey has worked with phila ...

: Guitar

References

External links

Official website''Billboard'' listingDiscogs discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Kirk 1975 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from California American blues singers Singers from California Electric blues musicians Songwriters from California People from Bellflower, California 21st-century American guitarists African-American guitarists African-American male songwriters 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers