Elvin Bishop

Elvin Richard Bishop is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of that group in 2015 and the Blues Hall of Fame in his own right in 2016…

Elvin Bishop - Gettin' My Groove Back (2005)
Blues | MP3 320 Kbps | 95 MB
Publisher: Blind Pig

Gettin' My Groove Back, the first new studio album from Elvin Bishop in five years, and the first since his daughter Selina was murdered in 2000, is an understandingly split affair, part catharsis as he deals with his tragic loss, and part the kind of rocking party record that has been Bishop's trademark in the past. Needless to say, the two parts don't necessarily fit together that well, and while Bishop's stinging guitar playing bridges the gap somewhat, it is the ragged, angry lead track, "What the Hell Is Going On," and the harrowing "Come on Blues," which features Bishop solo with just an electric guitar, that linger in the mind when this set concludes, making tracks like "Party Til the Cows Come Home" seem criminally frivolous. That said, the goofy, washboard-driven "He's a Dog" is a hillbilly delight, while an instrumental version of Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams" features some absolutely wonderful and emotionally powerful slide guitar work from Bishop, who obviously understands that the blues is, among other things, a kind of therapy. There was probably no way for Bishop to avoid the kind of emotional split apparent in this set, and while party songs about when the cows come home have their place, particularly as part of a live show, a track like "What the Hell Is Going On" asks the exact right question and ought to be all over the radio. That it isn't — and won't be —is an indictment of the times. It's a great song, and since it leads off this album, it casts a giant shadow over everything that follows it. Everyone — not just Bishop — desperately needs the answer to the question it asks.

Elvin Bishop - Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby (1981)
Blues | MP3 192 Kbps | 58 MB
Publisher: Line Records

The band remained with Capricorn throughout the rest of the 1970s, releasing Hometown Boy Makes Good! in 1976. A live album, Raisin' Hell, was released in 1977 to capitalize on the group's enduring popularity. A return to the studio resulted in Hog Heaven, released in 1978. None of these albums, however, was able to match the popularity of Struttin' My Stuff. Faced with its decline in popularity, the band opted to dissolve at the end of the decade, ending its affiliation with Capricorn after the release of Best of Elvin Bishop in 1979.
Bishop was relatively quiet for much of the next decade, after releasing Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby in 1981. In 1988 he returned to active duty, signing with Alligator Records and effectively returning to his blues roots. That year's Big Fun marked the debut of Bishop with his new label, followed by 1991's Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down. In 1995 Bishop released Ace in the Hole and also performed on the first solo album of his former mentor, Smokey Smothers. The 1998 album The Skin I'm In addresses, among other things, the artist's experience of growing older. In January of 2000, Bishop's career appeared to close the circle when Smokey Smothers joined him onstage for three nights of sold-out shows in San Francisco. The performances were captured on That's My Partner!, released later that year.

Elvin Bishop - Booty Bumpin' (2007)
Blues | MP3 320 Kbps | 101 MB
Publisher: Blind Pig

Booty Bumpin' is a joyous, down home set from blues guitarist Elvin Bishop and his six-piece band, recorded live on December 3, 2006 at Constable Jack's in California. Bishop is probably best known for the 1976 hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," and has maintained a loyal blues following since his early days as a member of the Butterfield Blues Band. On Bishop's second release for Blind Pig, he and his co-horts apply a good-natured heat to 12 tracks that stylistically shift between Chicago blues, Cajun, New Orleans R&B, and a hint of Southern rock, driven by the leader's raw slide guitar and keen sense of humor. Along with several Bishop originals are a few choice cover versions including Roy Milton's "Keep a Dollar in Your Pocket," Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's "I Feel Alright Again" and the Allen Toussaint composition "I'm Gone." Booty Bumpin' is definitely a timeless, no-nonsense party album.

Elvin Richard Bishop is an American blues and rock musician as singer and guitarist, a bandleader, and a recording artist, having released over two dozen studio and live albums to date, including a #3 charting U.S. hit single. He was an original member of the historic 1960s group, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and as such, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Elvin Bishop - Let It Flow (1974)
Blues | MP3 256 KBPS | 82 MB
Publisher: One Way

For his fourth album, Elvin Bishop organized a new backup group and switched to Capricorn Records. Capricorn was known as the standard bearer of the Southern rock movement—the Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, etc.—and Bishop was able to emphasize the country/blues aspects of his persona and his music in the move from Marin County, California, to Macon, Georgia. The guest artists included the Allmans' Dickey Betts, Marshall Tucker's Toy Caldwell, Charlie Daniels, and Sly Stone, and Bishop turned in one of his best sets of songs, including "Travelin' Shoes" (with its Allmans-like twin lead guitar work), which became his first charting single, just as the album was his first to make the Top 100 LPs.

Elvin Bishop - The Skin I'm In (1998)
Blues | MP3 320 Kbps | 112 MB
Publisher: Alligator

Elvin keeps the cornpone good-ole-boy schtick down to an acceptable level on this, perhaps his most serious solo album to date. Although Bishop's good-time approach is still evident on tunes like "I'm Gone," "Right Now Is the Hour," the acoustic "Radio Boogie" (with a guest shot from Charlie Musselwhite) and "Country Blues," the playing and lyrics get much deeper and more serious with "Shady Lane," "The Skin They're In," "Middle Aged Man" and "Long Shadows." Perhaps the most cohesive album he's made to date, revealing an artist coming to grips with his muse, his age and his art, all at once.