Lurrie Bell, whose full name is Lurrie C. Bell, was born on December 13, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is an American blues guitarist and singer. His father was a well-known blues musician who played the harmonica, named Carey Bell.
Career
Bell began playing the guitar at the age of six. During his teenage years, he improved his skills by playing with famous musicians in the Chicago blues scene, including Eddy Clearwater, Big Walter Horton, and Eddie Taylor.
In the mid-1970s, he joined Koko Taylor's Blues Machine and toured with the band for four years. In 1977, he made his recording debut on his father's album Heartaches and Pain and on Eddie C. Campbell's King of the Jungle. Around that time, he formed a group called The Sons of Blues with musicians such as Billy Branch on harmonica. Three songs from the group were included in the Alligator Records compilation Living Chicago Blues Vol. 3, released in 1978. In 1989, he released his first solo album, Everybody Wants To Win, on JSP Records.
Although Bell's career seemed promising as a young blues musician who gained attention worldwide, he struggled with emotional challenges and drug use for many years, which limited his performances.
He began a comeback in 1995 with the well-received album Mercurial Son, his first from the Delmark label. He released several more albums and performed more often at Chicago clubs and blues festivals.
Bell was featured on Gettin' Up – Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's and Lurrie's Home, a 2007 CD and DVD from Delmark, where he played with his father, Carey. Shortly after this release, Carey passed away in May 2007, and this became Bell's final recorded project.
In 2014, Bell won a Blues Music Award for his song "Blues in My Soul" in the "Song of the Year" category. He was also nominated for awards in four other categories. In 2015, he won a Blues Music Award for "Traditional Blues Male Artist."
Bell's 2016 album, Can't Shake This Feeling, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Matthew Skoller's harmonica playing was a key part of the album. Skoller also produced Bell's earlier albums, Let's Talk About Love and The Devil Ain't Got No Music.
In 2024, Bell was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Blues Hall of Fame.
Discography
- 1989 Everybody Wants to Win (JSP)
- 1995 Mercurial Son (Delmark)
- 1997 700 Blues (Delmark)
- 1997 Young Man's Blues (JSP)
- 1998 Kiss of Sweet Blues (Delmark)
- 1998 The Blues Caravan Live at Pit Inn 1982 (P-Vine)
- 1999 Blues Had a Baby (Delmark)
- 2001 Cutting Heads (Vypyr)
- 2007 Let's Talk About Love (Aria B.G.)
- 2012 The Devil Ain't Got No Music (Aria B.G.)
- 2013 Blues in My Soul (Delmark)
- 2016 Can't Shake This Feeling (Delmark)
- 1977 Heartaches and Pain (Delmark) – released in 1994
- 1982 Going on Main Street (L+R)
- 1984 Son of a Gun (Rooster Blues)
- 1986 Straight Shoot (Blues South West)
- 1990 Dynasty (JSP)
- 1994 Harpmaster (JSP)
- 1995 Deep Down (Alligator)
- 1997 Father&Son The Blues Collection (BLU GNC 072)
- 2004 Second Nature (Alligator) – recorded in 1991
- 2007 Gettin' Up, Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, Rosa's and Lurrie's Home (Delmark)
- 1981 American Folk Blues Festival '81 (L+R)
- 1982 The Sons of Blues Live '82 (L+R)
- 1982 Chicago's Young Blues Generation (L+R) – with Billy Branch
- 1991 Rocket Pocket (Bluelight) – with Doobie Twisters
- 1998 Chicago's Hottest Guitars: Chicago Blues Session, Vol. 25 (Wolf) – with Phil Guy
- 2009 Live at Chan's: Combo Platter No. 2 – with Nick Moss & The Flip Tops
- 2024 Set Me Free – with Frank Catalano