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Joey Gilmore

Photo by Enid B. Decker

Just Call Him Joey

Born in Ocala, Joey Gilmore came to South Florida in the ’60s and has been here ever since. Joey Gilmore found his niche playing behind all the great soul, blues and R&B stars that passed through town, as well as leading his own successful bands and recording along the way. His love affair with the guitar began in his teens. "In the town that I lived in, there was a barbershop," Joey Gilmore reminisces. "And the barber that owned the shop was a sanctified preacher. He was a minister, and he had this little flat-bodied guitar. It was electric, no amplifier to it. And he would bring it to the shop with him, and he was trying to learn how to play. So, I would get to the barbershop early whenever I would go to get my hair cut, or even after school, I would hang around at the barbershop, because I wanted to get my hands on that guitar. I would take the guitar and they had these old wooden benches. I would lay the guitar on top of the wooden bench and when you would strum the strings, the wood, the bench, would vibrate, and the floor would, the sound would resonate, and you could hear it without the amplifier. I learned just from watching him." Young Joey Gilmore tried to keep his obsession with the instrument from his church going aunt, who was raising him, but word of the talented boy who played at the barbershop eventually got back to her. She finally heard him play with his group at church and was moved to tears. "She went straight to Sears and Roebuck and bought me a brand-new guitar," Joey Gilmore says. "It was a Kay, I think. And from that, we started learning other songs, other music besides church music. And that didn’t sit too well with her. But when she finally accepted that we could make money, that we could make a lot on a weekend, though we weren’t old enough to be in the bars without parental supervision, she would go with us. And she would sit at the door and take up the money for us." Decades later and established as a Florida legend, Joey Gilmore provides a highlight at Blues Festivals and clubs proving he’s one of South Florida’s best soul-blues singers while wringing blue notes out of his guitar. Joey Gilmore's career has spanned 40 years with performances throughout the United States and Europe. Joey Gilmore has called South Florida home for the past twenty years. Joey Gilmore is a true Blues and R&B master who incorporates new and varied styles in his music performing original compositions mixed with traditional standards in his high energy live show. His tenor/baritone vocals belt out tunes with a loss abandon reminiscent of Blues Legends from the 1940's and 1950's. This Bluesman's major influences are apparent without sacrificing his unique style. Artists Joey Gilmore has shared the stage with include James Brown, Etta James, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Johnny Taylor and numerous others.

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Home → Overview → Blues Artists → Joey Gilmore