What can I say, I just love me some Robben Ford. Many people just view him as a blues guitarist extraordinaire, but he's had an extensive career playing with some of the greatest musicians in our time.
At age 18, Ford's band was hired to play with Charlie Musselwhite.[1] and recorded two albums The Charles Ford Band and Discovering the Blues. He recorded two albums with Jimmy Witherspoon [3][citation needed] called Live and Spoonful. In the 1970s, Ford joined the jazz fusion band, L.A. Express, [1] led by saxophonist Tom Scott. In 1974 the band supported George Harrison on his American tour and played on the Joni Mitchell albums, Court and Spark, Hissing of Summer Lawns and Miles of Aisles.[1]
After leaving the L.A. Express in 1976, Robben Ford recorded his solo album, The Inside Story with a band that later became the Yellowjackets.[1] In 1982, Ford was one of several guitarists who appeared on the KISS album Creatures of the Night, playing lead guitar on the songs "Rock And Roll Hell" and "I Still Love You".
Miles Davis & Robben Ford in Montreux in 1986
Ford worked briefly with Miles Davis in 1986;[1] and can be heard on Davis' Montreux box set. Ford released his album, Talk to Your Daughter in 1988. He joined Philippe Saisse, Marcus Miller and J.T. Lewis in the cast of The Sunday Night Band for the second and final season of the late-night NBC television program, Sunday Night in 1989.[4] In the 1990s he released the albums, Robben Ford and the Blue Line, and Tiger Walk.
Robben Ford has received four Grammy Award nominations[citation needed] and was named one of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century" by Musician magazine.[5] He credits pianist and arranger Roger Kellaway and saxophonist and arranger Tom Scott as a major influence on his musical development, who he met while playing for Joni Mitchell.[6]
I posted the lead track off his album: Talk To Your Daughter, which is a great, great record. (I love Help the Poor, too.)
Don't forget to check out Robben's website. He's got a lot of goodies as well as a master class video for you to learn from. Don't forget to give a listen to his new album: Bringing It Back Home.
