* En anglais uniquement
Lurrie Bell was born on December 13, 1958, in Chicago. His famous father, harpist
Carey Bell, had him working out on guitar as a wee lad. By 1977, he was recording with his dad and playing behind a variety of established stars, tabbed by many observers at the time as a sure star on the rise. But personal problems took their toll on his great potential;
Bell's recorded output and live performances were inconsistent in the '80s and early '90s. Among the highlights of
Bell's discography are three tracks in tandem with harpist
Billy Branch under the Sons of Blues banner (
Bell was a founding member of the band) from Alligator's first batch of 1978 Living Chicago Blues anthologies and 1984's Son of a Gun, a collaboration with his old man for Rooster Blues. Then there's his 1995 Delmark set
Mercurial Son, as bizarre a contemporary blues album as you're likely to encounter.
Bell followed
Mercurial Son with the more straightforward
700 Blues in spring 1997;
The Blues Had a Baby appeared two years later.
Let's Talk About Love (2007) and
The Devil Ain't Got No Music (2012) both appeared on
Bell's own record label, Aria B.G. In 2013, he returned to Delmark with the release of
Blues in My Soul, which celebrated the guitarist's straight-ahead Chicago blues roots. Three years later came
Can't Shake This Feeling, also released on Delmark. ~ Bill Dahl & Al Campbell