Lurrie Bell (born Lurrie C. Bell, December 13, 1958,

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States) is an American

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 ...

guitarist and singer. His father was renowned blues harmonica player Carey Bell.

Career

Bell started playing guitar at the age of six, and in his teens he polished his skills playing with the legends of

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 ...

scene including Eddy Clearwater,

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

and Eddie Taylor. Lurrie Bell 1980

In the mid 1970s, he went on to join Koko Taylor's Blues Machine and he toured with the band for four years. He made his recording debut in 1977 appearing on his father's album ''Heartaches and Pain'' and also on Eddie C. Campbell's ''King of the Jungle''.
It was around that time that he formed The Sons of Blues with musicians including Billy Branch on harmonica. Three tracks of the band's recordings were featured in the Alligator Records compilation ''Living Chicago Blues Vol. 3'' released in 1978. In 1989 he released his first solo effort, ''Everybody Wants To Win'', on JSP Records. Though Bell's career appeared to be headed in the right direction, drawing attention of the blues fans around the world as a young prodigy of the blues, he battled emotional problems and

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

for many years, which kept him away from performing on regular basis. He began a comeback in 1995 with the well-received album ''Mercurial Son'', his first of several from the Delmark

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

. A series of albums followed thereafter, and he started to perform more frequently in the Chicago club and blues festival circuits. Bell is featured on ''Gettin' Up – Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's and Lurrie's Home'', a 2007 CD and DVD release from Delmark, where he plays with his father Carey. Soon after this release, Carey died in May 2007 and this became his last recorded effort. In 2014, Bell won a

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, " ...

for his track "Blues in My Soul", in the 'Song of the Year' category. He was nominated for a similar award in four other categories. In 2015, Bell won a Blues Music Award in the 'Traditional Blues Male Artist' category. Bell's 2016 album, ''

Can't Shake This Feeling ''Can't Shake This Feeling'' is an album by Lurrie Bell. It earned Bell a Grammy Award nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album. At the 38th Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys") ...

'', was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Matthew Skoller's harmonica work featured prominently on the album, and he was the record producer on Bell's earlier ''Let's Talk About Love'' and ''The Devil Ain't Got No Music'' albums. He became a 2024 inductee to 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 ...

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

Discography

Solo

* 1989 ''Everybody Wants to Win'' (JSP) * 1995 ''Mercurial Son'' (Delmark) * 1997 ''700 Blues'' (Delmark) * 1997 ''Young Man's Blues'' (JSP) * 1998 ''Kiss of Sweet Blues'' (Delmark) * 1998 ''The Blues Caravan Live at Pit Inn 1982'' (P-Vine) * 1999 ''Blues Had a Baby'' (Delmark) * 2001 ''Cutting Heads'' (Vypyr) * 2007 ''Let's Talk About Love'' (Aria B.G.) * 2012 ''The Devil Ain't Got No Music'' (Aria B.G.) * 2013 ''Blues in My Soul'' (Delmark) * 2016 ''

'' (Delmark)

With Carey Bell

* 1977 '' Heartaches and Pain'' (Delmark) released 1994 * 1982 ''Going on Main Street'' ( L+R) * 1984 ''Son of a Gun'' (Rooster Blues) * 1986 ''Straight Shoot'' (Blues South West) * 1990 ''Dynasty'' (JSP) * 1994 ''Harpmaster'' (JSP) * 1995 '' Deep Down'' (Alligator) * 1997 ''Father&Son The Blues Collection'' (BLU GNC 072) * 2004 ''Second Nature'' (Alligator) (recorded in 1991) * 2007 ''Gettin' Up, Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's and Lurrie's Home'' (Delmark)

Collaboration with other artists

* 1981 ''American Folk Blues Festival '81'' (L+R) * 1982 ''The Sons of Blues Live '82'' (L+R) * 1982 ''Chicago's Young Blues Generation'' (L+R) with Billy Branch * 1991 ''Rocket Pocket'' (Bluelight) with Doobie Twisters * 1998 ''Chicago's Hottest Guitars: Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 25'' (Wolf) with Phil Guy * 2009 ''Live at Chan's: Combo Platter No. 2'' (with Nick Moss & The Flip Tops) * 2024 ''Set Me Free'' (with Frank Catalano)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Lurrie 1958 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians African-American guitarists American blues guitarists American blues singers American male guitarists Blues musicians from Illinois Chicago blues musicians Electric blues musicians Guitarists from Chicago Singers from Chicago 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians