Blues Search Engine: Keb' Mo'

Keb' Mo' was born October 3, 1951 in South Central, Los Angeles, California as Kevin Moore. Coming from a divorced family, his parents came from Texas and Louisiana, instilling within him an early appreciation of blues and gospel. By adolescence, he was already an accomplished guitarist. At age 12, Keb' Mo' got his first guitar, a Silvertone, which he bought at Sears, for $25.00. But he also blew trumpet and French horn. In his first band a calypso band Keb' Mo' played steel drums and upright bass. In the 1970s and 1980s he played in a variety of blues and backup bands. Keb' Mo' recorded first in the early 1970s, with Jefferson Starship violinist Papa John Creach, and around that time, Keb' Mo' also honed his skills as staff writer for A&M Records. In 1980, his debut, Rainmaker, for Casablanca, was a R&B disc full of promise. His stint in the Whodunit Band, headed by Bobby quot;Bluquot; Bland producer, Monk Higgins, immersed Keb' Mo' further into the Blues. Heightening his song writing with candor and poetry, for the theatrical production Rabbit Foot, playing a Delta Blues man, Keb' Mo' jammed with Albert Collins and Big Joe Turner, Keb' Mo' emerged as an inheritor of a guard tradition and a genuine original. In 1994 he released his self titled debut album. In 1996 Keb' Mo' released Just Like You, his second album which featured twelve songs, full of Delta rhythms. With this album he won his first Grammy award. On the evening of June 10, 1997, Keb' Mo' taped a compilation of his best songs in the TV Show Sessions at West 54th. Keb' Mo' joined musician Laval Belle on drums, Reggie McBride playing bass and Joellen Friedcken on keyboards, to perform 14 songs, and in between he invited Dr. John. Slow Down was his next album, released in 1998, which as the same of Just Like You, it featured twelve songs, and earned him his second Grammy award. His fourth album Big Wide Grin, was released in 2000. February 10, 2004, was the release date for Keep It Simple, and this album earned him a third Grammy award. Later that same year, Keb' Mo' released his fifth album, called Peace... Back by Popular Demand, Martin Scorsese presented the Blues, Keb' Mo', in 2005, and his more recent released is Suitcase, dated June 13, 2006. From that initial Keb' Mo' in 1994, through his 2006 release Suitcase, his stature has only increased. A few years later, he portrayed the blues legend Robert Johnson in the documentary film Can't You Hear the Wind Howl?. He also composed one of the theme songs used on the show Martha Stewart Living. In 2004 Keb' Mo' participated in the politically motivated Vote for Change Tour. In 2006 he appeared in the last episode of the West Wing to perform America the Beautiful.