Steve Guyger (born September 12, 1952) is an American

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 ...

harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. He has recorded five albums since 1997, having previously backed

Jimmy Rogers Jay or James Arthur "Jimmy" Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and ...

for almost fifteen years. Rick Estrin, from Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, referred to Guyger in the liner notes of one of the latter's albums as "a true master of the blues harmonica." Guyger has played with Rogers,

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 ...

, Little Sammy Davis and Mark Hummel, and is proficient in both

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair ...

and

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...

instruments.

Biography

Guyger was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and initially studied guitar for five years before his future sister-in-law gave him a harmonica as a gift. Inspired by watching various blues musicians following trips to both New York City and Chicago, Guyger formed his own band in the late 1970s. Personnel came and went and he changed the name of the band to the Excellos in 1980, who steadily built up a growing reputation playing in both Philadelphia and New York. Guyger started backing Jimmy Rogers in 1980, and played with him until just before Rogers' death in 1997. That same year Guyger's debut album, ''Last Train to Dover'', was released. In 1999,

Severn Records Severn Records is an American independent record label that concentrates on blues music. Its motto is "Roots Music for the 21st Century". History On July 11, 1997, a company named Echo Records was incorporated in Maryland by David Earl. By the t ...

released Guyger's third album, ''Past Life Blues''. In 2008, Guyger performed at the Lucerne Blues Festival. His most recent album, ''Radio Blues'' was released in March the same year to critical acclaim. His guest musicians included Johnny Moeller. The following year his work saw Guyger nominated for 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, " ...

. In 2010, he issued an instructional DVD, entitled ''Blues Harmonica'', published by the

Hal Leonard Corporation Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Cur ...

. He currently endorses

Hohner Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). It is a subsidiary of Matth. Hohner AG. The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg ...

harmonicas.

Discography

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guyger, Steve 1952 births Living people American blues singers American blues harmonica players American male singers Harmonica blues musicians Chicago blues musicians Electric blues musicians Singers from Philadelphia Songwriters from Pennsylvania Songwriters from Illinois American male songwriters

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links