Joe Bonamassa

Born May 8, 1977 New Hartford, New York, U.S. Genres Blues rock hard rock blues rock and roll Occupations Musician singer songwriter Instruments Guitar vocals Years active 1989–present Joseph Leonard Bonamassa (/ˌbɑːnəˈmɑːsə/ BAH-nə-MAH-sə;[2] 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.[3] Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his independent record label J&R Adventures, of which eleven have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart.[3][4] Bonamassa has played alongside many notable blues and rock artists,[5] and has earned three Grammy Awards nominations.[6][7] Among guitarists, he is known for his extensive collection of vintage guitars and amplifiers.[8] In 2020, Bonamassa created Keeping the Blues Alive Records, an independent record label that promotes and supports the talent of blues musicians. Notable artists include Dion, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Joanna Connor, and Larry McCray. Bonamassa produces and collaborates on many of the projects Early life Bonamassa was born in New Hartford, New York, and grew up in Utica, New York.[11][12] He is of Italian descent.[13] He started playing guitar at age four, encouraged by his father, who was an avid music fan and exposed him to British blues rock records by Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, greatly inspiring him. At eleven years old, Bonamassa was mentored and trained by American guitarist Danny Gatton. When he was twelve years old, he had his own band called Smokin' Joe Bonamassa, which gigged around western New York and Pennsylvania, including cities such as Scranton and Buffalo, only on weekends since he had school on weekdays. Bonamassa played a crimson 1972 Fender Stratocaster he called "Rosie", given to him by his father.[14] Bonamassa opened for B.B. King at approximately twenty shows in 1989.[14] Before he reached eighteen years old, Bonamassa was playing in a band called Bloodline with the sons of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger and Berry Oakley. Although Bloodline did not become a famous act, it attracted some attention to Bonamassa's guitar chops Career 2000–2019 Bonamassa's debut studio album, A New Day Yesterday, was released in 2000. It features original tunes and covers of artists such as Rory Gallagher, Jethro Tull and Warren Haynes.[16] The album features a guest appearance by Gregg Allman on the song "If Heartaches Were Nickels", and was produced by Tom Dowd.[17] The album reached No. 9 on the Billboard Blues chart. Between 2002 and 2006, Bonamassa had three studio albums hit No. 1 on the Billboard Blues charts, and all five of his solo studio albums made the Top 10.[19] In 2009, Bonamassa fulfilled one of his childhood dreams by playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where Eric Clapton played a duet with him.[20] Bonamassa's live album, Beacon Theatre: Live from New York, was released in 2012. The show featured one of Bonamassa's musical heroes, Paul Rodgers (formerly of the bands Free and Bad Company), as a guest. The live acoustic album, An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House, was released as a CD/DVD/Blu-ray set on March 26, 2013. This concert marked the first time Bonamassa played a wholly acoustic show. The acoustic ensemble that performed the show was assembled with the help of Bonamassa's longtime producer, Kevin Shirley.[21] The concluding, three-night stand of Bonamassa's spring 2013 tour, occurred at the famous Beacon Theatre in New York City.[21] In March 2013, Bonamassa performed four shows in London featuring three different bands (and a horn section at one show), covering four different sides of his music. Each show had a unique set list. The shows were recorded for a DVD release, and the set of DVDs was released in October 2013 as Tour de Force. Bonamassa's album Different Shades of Blue is his first solo studio album since So, It's Like That to showcase only original songs (with the exception of a brief instrumental Jimi Hendrix cover).[23][24] Bonamassa wrote the album in Nashville with three songwriters: Jonathan Cain of Journey, James House (known for his work with Diamond Rio), Dwight Yoakam, Martina McBride and Jerry Flowers (who has written for Keith Urban). Bonamassa sought to create serious blues rock in the project, instead of three-minute radio hits.[25] The album was recorded at a music studio in the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.[23] The album charted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on the blues chart, and No. 1 on the indie chart.[26] In May 2015, Bonamassa won a Blues Music Award in the Instrumentalist – Guitar category.[27] In April 2018, Bonamassa's signature amplifier, the ‘59 Twin-Amp JB Edition, was released by Fender.[28] On June 27, 2018, Bonamassa premiered at the Grand Ole Opry. He made a guest appearance after being introduced by Chase Bryant, and playing along with him in his final song of the set, "I Need a Cold Beer".[29] 2020–present Bonamassa released the live album and film, Now Serving: Royal Tea Live from the Ryman, on June 11, 2021. It was from his one-night-only concert, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on September 20, 2020. The show was live-streamed at the time, and raised $32,000 for Bonamassa's Fueling Musicians program, which had been helping financially struggling musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.[30] On November 21, 2022, Bonamassa announced in a since-deleted post on Instagram that he would no longer use social media, fearing that he would "be provoked one day into saying something I might regret.” He had replied to a trolling post harshly a few days prior. He stated that future Instagram posts would not be made by him.[31] By January 2, 2023, he had returned to Instagram and stated he would check back in periodically.[32] Collaborations with Beth Hart Bonamassa was first exposed to Beth Hart's music after seeing her play several television performances. The two would often cross paths when playing shows separately in Europe, and Bonamassa became very impressed with Hart when he caught her show at the Blue Balls Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland. While recording his album, Dust Bowl (and listening to the expanded edition of the Rolling Stones' Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! which features tracks by Ike & Tina Turner), Bonamassa became inspired to try pairing up with a woman. Hart came to mind, and the two musicians met up in a hotel bar in Dublin. Bonamassa floated the idea, which Hart accepted immediately, although she was at first under the impression that he was asking her to sing backup vocals on his next album. When she realized that his intention was for her to sing lead vocals, she said "I was floored".[33] Bonamassa, Hart and producer Kevin Shirley wrote down lists of soul songs they liked to come up with material for the album, which was named Don't Explain. The group settled on twelve songs, although only ten ended up being recorded. Bonamassa and Hart each chose five songs for the album.[34] Some of Hart's favorite tracks on the album included, "For My Friend" by Bill Withers, and "Sinner's Prayer" by Ray Charles. Bonamassa had wanted to do versions of Brook Benton's "I'll Take Care of You", and "Well Well" written by Delaney Bramlett & Bonnie Bramlett. Their follow-up album, Seesaw, was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Blues Album in 2013.[36] Hart and Bonamassa released, Black Coffee, on January 26, 2018. It was produced by Kevin Shirley.[37][38] Additional projects Bonamassa is a member of the jazz-funk band Rock Candy Funk Party. In 2013, they released their debut album, We Want Groove. It was followed by Rock Candy Funk Party Takes New York – Live at the Iridium. The show was recorded over three nights, at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. The band played during Conan on February 10, 2014.[39] Bonamassa produced podcasts with another guitar aficionado, Matt Abramovitz, between January and July 2015. The Pickup Radio episodes are about "the life and lore of the guitar".[40][41] Bonamassa and Abramovitz discuss their favorite guitars, guitarists and occasionally non-guitarists associated with the blues and rock genres.[42] Bonamassa also serves as the guitarist and secondary lead vocalist for the hard rock supergroup Black Country Communion. In September 2017, the band released their fourth studio album, BCCIV.[22] In August 2021, Bonamassa appeared as a contestant on To Tell the Truth. Bonamassa played lead guitar on two tracks from the 2022 album, From The New World, by Alan Parsons.[46] In 2024, Bonamassa contributed guitar to a re-release of Mark Knopfler's "Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero" in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. 中文介绍 约瑟夫·伦纳德·博纳马萨（Joseph Leonard Bonamassa，1977 年 5 月 8 日-）出生于美国纽约-尤蒂卡（Utica, New York），是一位美国蓝调摇滚吉他手、歌手和词曲作者。他从 12 岁开始了他的职业生涯，当时他为 B.B. King 开场。自 2000 年以来，Bonamassa 通过他的独立唱片公司 J&R Adventures 发行了 15 张个人专辑，其中 11 张在 Billboard Blues 排行榜上排名第一。Bonamassa 曾与许多著名的蓝调和摇滚艺术家合作，并获得了三项格莱美奖提名。在吉他手中，他以大量收藏的老式吉他和放大器而闻名。2020 年，Bonamassa 创建了 Keeping the Blues Alive Records，这是一家独立唱片公司，旨在推广和支持蓝调音乐家的才华。目前的艺术家包括 Dion DiMucci、Joanne Shaw Taylor、Joanna Connor、Larry McCray 等。Bonamassa 制作并合作了许多项目。 2007年4月份的Guitar One 杂志曾赞赏 Joe 或许是在他这个年代里头表现最棒的吉他手；他的弹奏风格通常被归类为蓝调摇滚/blues-rock style， 这样的乐手像是Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd 以及Jonny Lang 等。Joe Bonamassa 至今已发行多张个人录音室专辑及现场专辑，音乐作品多次荣登Billboard Blues Chart/蓝调排行榜冠军。Joe Bonamassa 小时候因为家里开设吉他乐器行，所以父亲在他4岁的时候便开始教他一些简短的吉他音阶。11岁时，Joe 花了将近6个月的时间，受到乡村界的吉他翘楚 Danny Gatton 的鼓舞及指导，学会了像是Country 、爵士/Jazz 的东西。这段期间，只要Gatton 的乐队在纽约的任何地方表演，他就会乖乖地坐在旁边观摩学习。在他12岁的时候，就首次为蓝调之王B.B.King作开场演出。14岁时被Fenderguitar 邀请参与他们的活动。