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Tinsley Ellis

Hard-Rocking Blues-Soaked

Born in Atlanta in 1957, Tinsley Ellis grew up in southern Florida and first played guitar at age eight. He found the blues through the backdoor of the British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream, and The Rolling Stones. He especially loved the Kings - Freddie, B.B. and Albert - and spent hours immersing himself in their music. His love for the blues solidified when he was 14. At a B.B. King performance, Tinsley Ellis sat mesmerized in the front row. When B.B. King broke a string on Lucille, he changed it without missing a beat, and handed the broken string to Tinsley Ellis. After the show, B.B. King came out and talked with fans, further impressing Tinsley Ellis with his warmth and down-to-earth attitude. By now Tinsley Ellis' fate was sealed; he had to become a blues guitarist. And yes, he still has that string. Already an accomplished teenaged musician, Tinsley Ellis left Florida and returned to Atlanta in 1975. He soon joined the Alley Cats, a gritty blues band that included Preston Hubbard (of Fabulous Thunderbirds fame). In 1981, along with veteran blues singer and harpist Chicago Bob Nelson, Tinsley Ellis formed The Heartfixers, a group that would become Atlanta's top-drawing blues band. The band built a grassroots following and Tinsley Ellis began drawing national attention. After cutting two more Heartfixers albums for Landslide, Cool On It and Tore Up (with vocals by blues shouter Nappy Brown), Tinsley Ellis was ready to head out on his own. He sent a copy of the master tape for his solo debut to Bruce Iglauer at Alligator Records. After checking out a fiery live performance in Atlanta, Iglauer signed Tinsley Ellis to Alligator. A move to Capricorn Records in 2000 saw Tinsley Ellis revisiting his Southern roots with Kingpin. Unfortunately, the label folded soon after the CD's release. In 2002, he joined the Telarc label, producing two well-received albums of soul-drenched blues-rock, Hell Or High Water and The Hard Way. But now, with Live--Highwayman, Tinsley Ellis is back home with Alligator Records. He's back on the road with renewed energy, delivering, as the Chicago Tribune says, "incendiary live performances, inspired, original and funky."

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