Roy Book Binder (born October 5, 1943 as Paul Roy Bookbinder) is an American blues guitarist, singer-songwriter and storyteller. A student and friend of the Rev. Gary Davis, he is equally at home with blues and

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

. He is known to shift from

open tunings Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By ...

to slide arrangements to original compositions, with both traditional and self-styled licks. His storytelling is another characteristic that makes his style unique.

Life and career

Book Binder was born in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York City. Upon graduation from high school, he joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

and undertook a tour of duty in Europe. He bought his first guitar at a military base in Italy. After completing his enlistment, he returned to New York, where he met and became friends with his guitar hero,

Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Mac ...

. Book Binder soon sought out Davis, who also lived in New York, and became his student and later his chauffeur and tour companion. Much of Book Binder's original material is based on his time on the road with Davis. By the mid- to late 1960s Book Binder was recording for both

Kicking Mule Kicking Mule Records was an American independent record label, founded in Berkeley, California in 1971 by guitarist Stefan Grossman and Eugene "ED" Denson, formerly co-owner of Takoma Records. The company's name comes from the country blues sexu ...

and

Blue Goose Records Blue Goose Records was an American independent record label set up in the early 1970s by Nick Perls. While on Blue Goose's sister label, Yazoo Records, Perls compiled rare 78 rpm recordings from the 1920s by Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell, ...

. In 1969, he toured England with

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Arthur William "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known, outside blues circles, for his songs "That's All Right" (1946), "My Baby Left Me" and "So Gla ...

and

Homesick James Homesick James (April 30, 1910December 13, 2006 was an American blues musician known for his mastery of the slide guitar. He worked with his cousin, Elmore James, and with Sonny Boy Williamson II. Early years Homesick James was born in Somerv ...

. After meeting another of his musical influences, the bluesman

Pink Anderson Pinkney "Pink" Anderson (February 12, 1900 – October 12, 1974) was an American blues singer and guitarist. Life and career Anderson was born in Laurens, South Carolina, and raised in nearby Greenville and Spartanburg. He joined Dr. William ...

, Book Binder released his first album, ''Travelin' Man'', on Adelphi. The album was named after one of the songs he learned from Anderson. In 1973 he began a partnership with the fiddler Fats Kaplin, and they recorded ''Git Fiddle Shuffle'' in 1973. They performed together for three years, playing numerous concerts and recording a second album, ''Ragtime Millionaire'', in 1977. After this partnership dissolved, Book Binder began touring the country, living in a motor home, and concentrating on live performances. Book Binder has been described as a guitar-picking hillbilly bluesman. He has released 12 albums and has performed at most major blues and folk

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holida ...

in the U.S. and Europe, including Merlefest. Notables that have shared the stage with Book Binder include

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporate ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, John Jackson,

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 o ...

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, and

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee wa ...

. He has appeared regularly on ''

Nashville Now ''Nashville Now'' was an American talk show that focused on country music performers in the style of ''The Tonight Show''. The show aired live on weeknights on TNN from 1983–1993. The host was Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph Emery. The sh ...

''. He is listed in '' Blues Who's Who'', by the music historian Sheldon Harris. Book Binder is a veteran guitar instructor and teaches at the Fur Peace Ranch with

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen, Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassi ...

and others whose lives have been influenced by Davis. There he demonstrates songs, turnarounds, chord variations, right-hand methods, and many of his own powerful adaptations and unique approaches to the blues. Book Binder's album ''Hillbilly Blues Cats'' (Rounder) was named as one of the ten most essential acoustic guitar albums of 1992. The 1992 category winners also included Eric Clapton's ''

Unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

'',

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957)Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and releas ...

's ''Joshua Judges Ruth'' and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

's '' Harvest Moon''.

Albums

*''Travelin' Man'' (1971, Adelphi Records) *''Git Fiddle Shuffle'' (1975, Blue Goose Records) *''Ragtime Millionaire'' (1977, Blue Goose) *''Goin' Back to Tampa'' (1979, Flying Fish Records) *''Bookeroo!'' (1988, Rounder Records) *''The Hillbilly Blues Cats'' (1992, Rounder) *''Live Book... Don't Start Me Talkin...'' (1994, Rounder) *''Polk City Ramble'' (1998, Rounder) *''The Radio Show'' (2000, PEGleg Records) *''Singer Songwriter Bluesman'' (2001, PEGleg) *''Live at the Fur Peace Station'' (2005, PEGleg) *''In Concert ... Road Songs & Stories'' (2009, PEGleg) *''The Good Book'' (2013, PEGleg) *''In Concert Road Songs And Stories'' (2017, PEGleg) *''Live At The Fur Peace Station '' (PEGleg)

References

External links

Answers.comBlogcritics.orgRoybookbinder.com – Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Binder, Roy 1941 births Living people American blues singer-songwriters American blues guitarists American male guitarists Singers from New York City Guitarists from New York City 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Rounder Records artists Flying Fish Records artists Pseudonymous artists