Larry Garner

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Larry Garner
Garner in 2013
Garner in 2013
Background information
Birth nameLarry Garner
Born (1952-07-08) July 8, 1952 (age 71)
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
GenresLouisiana blues, swamp blues
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years activeEarly 1980s–present
LabelsSeveral including JSP and Ruf

Larry Garner (born July 8, 1952 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States)[1] is a Louisiana blues musician best known for his 1994 album Too Blues.[2]

Biography[edit]

Garner grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His first inspiration was the guitar-playing preacher Reverend Utah Smith. Garner made acquaintance with local musicians such as Lonesome Sundown, Silas Hogan, Guitar Kelley and Tabby Thomas.[3] His musical influences include Hogan, Clarence Edwards, Jimi Hendrix, and Henry Gray.[1][4] He was taught to play guitar by his uncle and two other elders. Garner completed military service in Korea and returned to Baton Rouge, working part-time in music and full-time at a Dow Chemical plant.[1]

Garner won the International Blues Challenge in 1988.[4] His first two albums, Double Dues and Too Blues, were released by the British JSP label. The latter album's title was in reply to a label executive who judged Garner's original demo to be "too blues".[1] Thomas's nightclub, Tabby's Blues Box, provided Garner with a playing base in the 1980s and gave him the subject matter for the song "No Free Rides" on Double Dues.[3]

He recorded the albums You Need to Live a Little (1996), Standing Room Only (1998), Baton Rouge (1995) and Once Upon the Blues (2000).[1] The song "Go to Baton Rouge", from the album Baton Rouge, offered a tourist's guide to Louisiana music spots.[3]

In 2008, Garner was treated for a serious illness that was the inspiration for his 2008 album, Here Today Gone Tomorrow.[4][5]

Discography[edit]

All eight of Garner's CDs have been released by labels in Europe or Britain:[4]

  • Too Blues (1994), JSP
  • Double Dues (1995), JSP
  • You Need to Live a Little (1996), Polygram
  • Standing Room Only (1998), Ruf
  • Baton Rouge (1995), Evidence
  • Once Upon the Blues (2000), Ruf
  • Embarrassment to the Blues?, live album (2002), Ruf
  • Here Today Gone Tomorrow (2008), Dixiefrog
  • Larry Garner, Norman Beaker and Friends: Live at the Tivoli, recorded at the Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne Minster, 8 October 2009 (2010)
  • Blues for Sale (2012), Dixiefrog[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Dahl, Bill. "Larry Garner: Artist Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  2. ^ Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray (1st ed.). Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 4. ISBN 1-85868-255-X., quote: " One music journalist noted "If you define 'blues' by the rigid categories of structure rather than the flexible language of feeling allusion, Robert Cray... Larry Garner, Joe Louis Walker and James Armstrong are a new and uncategorizable breed, their music blues-like rather than blues, each of them blending ideas and devices from a variety of sources – soul, rock, jazz, gospel – with a sophistication beyond the reach of their forerunners".
  3. ^ a b c Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. p. 113. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  4. ^ a b c d Wirt, John (2008-08-15). "BR's Larry Garner Grateful to Be Here Today". The Advocate. p. 18FUN.
  5. ^ "Larry Garner, Here Today Gone Tomorrow". Bluesweb.com. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  6. ^ "Larry Garner: Album Discography". AllMusic.com. 1952-07-08. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
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