Song:Illinois Blues
Album:Territory
Alvin "Youngblood" Hart is continuing the tradition of acoustic blues established by greats like Robert Johnson and Skip James. He is a protege of Taj Mahal. He was born Mar. 2, 1963 in Oakland, CA and got interested in the blues when he visted his grandmother in Mississippi. His uncle told him stories about Charley Patton. When his family moved to the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Hart started hanging around blues clubs and got the nickname Youngblood. He moved back to California and started playing local clubs. Hart signed up with the Coast Guard in 1986 and was stationed in Natchez, MS and hung around blues clubs in his spare time. He left the Coast Guard in 1993 in Berkeley, CA and befriended blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker. Hart's big break came when he opened for Taj Mahal at an Oakland club in Feb. 1995. He was invited to a jam session the Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir's house. He signed with Sony's revival of the Okeh label which of course was the home for a lot of blues artists in the 30s. His 1996 debut CD Big Mama's Door got a lot of acclaim and won Hart several W.C. Handy Award nominations. This version of the Skip James classic Illinois Blues is from Hart's 1998 follow up CD Territory on Hannibal Records. Hart was also in the Martin Scorsese produced TV series The Blues. His latest CD Motivational Speaker was released on Tone Cool Records in 2005. Blues fans should check out Alvin "Youngblood" Hart. Here's Alvin "Youngblood" Hart performing Illinois Blues on BBC4 1998.
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