Steve Nardella (born June 26, 1948, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, 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 ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

and

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

. The ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Cub Koda Michael John "Cub" Koda (né Uszniewicz; October 1, 1948 – July 1, 2000) was an Americans, American rock and roll musician, songwriter, and critic. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine considered him best known for writing the song "Smokin' in the Boys ...

, described Nardella as a "strong, American roots-music performer, equally adept at rockabilly and low-down blues".

Biography

Nardella became proficient on both guitar and harmonica by his late teens, and by the late 1960s was in the Black Cat Blues Band with

Duke Robillard Michael John "Duke" Robillard (born October 4, 1948) is an American guitarist and singer. He founded the band Roomful of Blues and was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Although Robillard is known as a rock and blues guitarist, he also play ...

Johnny Nicholas Johnny Nicholas (born 1948) is an American blues musician. He is most noted for being a member of the Grammy Award winning group, Asleep at the Wheel. Biography Nicholas grew up in Rhode Island, United States, where he formed his first band, Th ...

and Fran Christina. By 1971, Nardella, Nicholas and Christina had all relocated to

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

. Nardella then instigated the Boogie Brothers band with Sarah Brown, Nicholas and Christina. They backed a variety of blues musicians who toured locally, and were on the bill at the 1972

Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 20 ...

, both as backing to

Johnny Shines John Ned Shines (April 26, 1915 – April 20, 1992) was an American blues singer and guitarist. Biography Shines was born in Frayser, Tennessee, today a neighborhood of Memphis. He was taught to play the guitar by his mother and spent m ...

and

Boogie Woogie Red Boogie Woogie Red (October 18, 1925 – July 2, 1992) was an American Detroit blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, singer and songwriter. At different times he worked with Sonny Boy Williamson I, Washboard Willie, Baby Boy Warren, Lonnie John ...

, and in their own right. Their work appeared on the

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival: 1972''. By the following year, the band name had changed its name to the Vipers and included the guitarist George Bedard. Their single, "Huron River Drive", was the first record to be released by

Blind Pig Records Blind Pig Records is an American blues independent record label. Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco. I ...

. In 1974, Nardella backed

Bobo Jenkins Bobo Jenkins (January 7, 1916 – August 14, 1984) was an American Detroit blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He also built and set up his own recording studio and record label in Detroit. Jenkins is best known for his re ...

on his album ''Here I Am a Fool in Love Again''. Other

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

s used included Brown and Christina. Nardella and Bedard then formed the Silvertones, who toured across the United States and released the 1977 album, ''One Chance With You'', also on Blind Pig. In addition to his harmonica playing, Nardella introduced more of his own guitar work and singing to their output. With a change of personnel, in 1979 the renamed Steve Nardella Band issued ''It's All Rock & Roll''. The Steve Nardella Band lasted from 1978 to 1984. Nardella eventually became a solo artist and for years both toured and played backing to other musicians. His next album, ''Daddy Rollin' Stone'', did not appear until 1993. The same year, Nardella's trio backed Eddie Burns on his

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n tour. Nardella also led the touring backing band for Jack Scott. In June 2008, Nardella, Bedard and their one time band pianist Mr. B (Mark Lincoln Braun), played a reunion concert in Ann Arbor's Firefly Club. Nardella, with varying backing musicians, continues to perform live.

Discography

*''It's All Rock & Roll'' (1979) -

*''Daddy Rollin' Stone'' (1993) - Schoolkids Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nardella, Steve 1948 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Harmonica blues musicians American blues harmonica players American rockabilly musicians American people of Italian descent American blues rock musicians Singers from Rhode Island Songwriters from Rhode Island Guitarists from Rhode Island 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Blind Pig Records artists American male songwriters

Biography

Discography

See also

References