Artist:Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
Song:Blue on Black
Album:Trouble Is...
Guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd was 13 years old when music mogul Irving Azoff saw him play and decided to make him a star. And he had success in the late 90s with singles like Blue on Black which is considered to be his signature song. He was born Kenny Wayne Brobst June 12,1977 in Shreveport, LA. His father Ken Shepherd was a local DJ and concert promoter. Shepherd was seven years old when he met blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan at one of his dad's concerts. Shepherd then used his dad's record collection to teach himself to play. Shepherd was 13 years old when local musician Bryan Lee invited him to play at the Red River Revel Arts Festival in Shreveport. When Giant Records head Irving Azoff saw a video of this performance, he immediately signed Shepherd to a record deal. Obviously Shepherd's age made him a novelty. And with his dad managing him, he would be able to tour. It was decided to not promote Shepherd as a pop artist but rather to FM radio to Stevie Ray Vaughan fans. At Billboard that's called Mainstream Rock. Shepherd's 1995 debut album Ledbetter Heights was certified Platinum and the single Deja Voodoo was a top ten Mainstream Rock hit. The album topped Billboard's Blues album chart for 20 weeks. Sheppard wrote and produced the album with David Z from Prince's band. Shepherd didn't really sing so Corey Sterling sang lead on the album. For the 1997 album Trouble Is..., Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads was brought in to produce. The band was revamped including new lead singer Noah Hunt who remained with Shepherd for several years. Guests included blues legend James Cotton and members of Stevie Ray Vaughan's band who appeared on the title track. The single Blue on Black topped the Mainstream Rock chart. Shepherd wrote the song with the husband wife team of Danny Tate and Tia Sillers. They also wrote Deja Voodoo. This album was also certified Platinum. Sheppard recorded six albums for the Warner Music family of Giant, Reprise and Roadrunner. He currently records for Concord. He released his latest album in 2019. I saw Shepherd a few years ago at the Toronto Jazz Festival when he was touring with Robert Randolph and the Family Band. I reviewed the concert on the blog. I guess the novelty of a teen musician never appealed to me. And Shepherd isn't a teen anymore. He's just another guy with a guitar. So I never liked him. Here's the video for Blue on Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band.
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