Biography
Though raised on rock & roll as a drummer, Coco Montoya stands out as a commanding blues-rock guitarist. Across more than five decades he has distinguished himself as a technically gifted, chart-active, award-winning musician and composer. His profile took shape in the 1990s through stints alongside Albert Collins and John Mayall. A biting tone that fuses raucous, melodic Chicago blues and vintage R&B with soulful vocals defines his sound, while his left-handed approach folds funky Latin rhythms, roots rock, and jazz into electric blues. The 1995 Silvertone solo debut Gotta Mind to Travel earned the W.C. Handy award for Best New Artist. Ya Think I'd Know Better followed in 1996 and reached the blues Top Ten. After joining Alligator Records in 2000, Can't Look Back (2002), Dirty Deal (2007), and Coming in Hot (2019) each landed inside the blues Top Five. Montoya resumed studio work in 2023 with Writing on the Wall.
Henry Montoya entered the world in Santa Monica, California, in 1951. An expansive family record collection assembled by his father and siblings filled the house with big-band sides, rock & roll, and doo-wop 45s that dominated AM radio. In the early 1960s, British players such as John Mayall and Eric Clapton began reshaping electric blues after absorbing American forebears including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Boy Williamson. Montoya traces his own introduction to the style to hearing Clapton’s version of Freddie King’s “Hideaway.” As a teenager he picked up the guitar to express emotions he could not put into words; drums had been his first instrument. Local rock outfits provided his early experience, and he earned a reputation for reliability. In 1969 he caught Iron Butterfly and Creedence Clearwater Revival in concert; Albert King’s between-sets performance of “Watermelon Man” proved decisive. Montoya later described the moment as the first time he encountered music that originated straight from the heart.
During the 1970s, Albert Collins was scheduled for a matinee at a modest Culver City club where Montoya had performed the night before. The club owner allowed Collins to use the drum kit. When Montoya arrived to retrieve his equipment and learned someone else had played it, he voiced his irritation. Collins phoned the club, apologized, and proved gracious. Montoya stayed for the show and later recounted to an interviewer, “…it just tore my head off. The thing that I had seen and felt with Albert King came pouring back on me when I saw Albert Collins.”
Collins soon required a drummer for a tour of the American Northwest and contacted Montoya. Throughout the run the guitarist mentored his younger bandmate on blues tradition and life on the road. Montoya stayed with Collins for five years and began doubling on guitar; Collins spent hotel downtime coaching him, urging him to follow changes and craft solos by feel rather than calculation. The two grew so close that Collins called Montoya his “son.” After Montoya departed the group they remained in touch until Collins’s death from cancer in 1993.
By the early 1980s Montoya had returned to the local club circuit, bartending and playing guitar with regional acts. One night John Mayall attended a performance to celebrate his birthday. Montoya responded by covering Otis Rush’s “All Your Love (I Miss Loving).” Mayall left with a soundboard recording; when he chose to revive the Bluesbreakers after a sixteen-year absence, he reached out to Montoya. Despite the weight of succeeding Clapton and Peter Green, Montoya accepted. Mayall had not issued an album in five years, yet the 1985 set Behind the Iron Curtain reaffirmed his standing, due in significant measure to Montoya’s intense guitar work. A decade with the Bluesbreakers preceded Montoya’s decision to record under his own name.
His first leader effort, 1995’s Gotta Mind to Travel (Silvertone in the U.K., Blind Pig in the U.S.), featured final recorded appearances by Collins along with Mayall, Debbie Davies, and Al Kooper; it captured the W.C. Handy Best New Blues Artist award. Subsequent Blind Pig releases Ya’ Think I’d Know Better (1996) and Just Let Go (1997) both charted. Suspicion arrived on Alligator in 2000 and peaked at number ten, after which the road band spent more than a year touring worldwide. Can’t Look Back followed in 2002 and climbed to number two, prompting an additional three-plus years on the road. Dirty Deal emerged in 2007 after an extended break and again reached number two. Festival headlining dates across Europe and Asia increased; a European licensing arrangement with Germany’s Ruf Records yielded I Want It All Back (2010, number four) and the double-disc live set Songs from the Road (2014, number 15), which Montoya supported with U.S. club and festival dates. Hard Truth, issued by Alligator in 2017, rose to number five. After further festival appearances he recorded Coming in Hot, released in August 2019. Songwriting contributions came from the Montoya–Dave Steen team, Tom Hambridge and Richard Fleming, plus Warren Haynes, Frankie Miller, Jeff Paris, and Collins. Bob Glaub and Mike Mennell handled bass, Mike Finnigan played keyboards, Billy Watts and Johnny Lee Schell contributed rhythm guitar, and Tony Braunagel, who also produced, sat behind the drums.
Pandemic restrictions halted touring after Montoya’s final pre-COVID festival dates in the U.S. and Europe. He resumed road work in 2021 and, in early 2023, entered keyboardist Jeff Paris’s studio (Jeff’s Garage) with Paris and co-producer Braunagel. The sessions featured five originals plus additional material, performed by a core quartet of Paris, bassist Nathan Brown, and drummer Rena Beavers, augmented by selective appearances from Braunagel and guitarists Lee Roy Parnell, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Dave Steen (who supplied two songs). Writing on the Wall appeared in September 2023 as Montoya’s sixth Alligator album.
Henry Montoya entered the world in Santa Monica, California, in 1951. An expansive family record collection assembled by his father and siblings filled the house with big-band sides, rock & roll, and doo-wop 45s that dominated AM radio. In the early 1960s, British players such as John Mayall and Eric Clapton began reshaping electric blues after absorbing American forebears including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Boy Williamson. Montoya traces his own introduction to the style to hearing Clapton’s version of Freddie King’s “Hideaway.” As a teenager he picked up the guitar to express emotions he could not put into words; drums had been his first instrument. Local rock outfits provided his early experience, and he earned a reputation for reliability. In 1969 he caught Iron Butterfly and Creedence Clearwater Revival in concert; Albert King’s between-sets performance of “Watermelon Man” proved decisive. Montoya later described the moment as the first time he encountered music that originated straight from the heart.
During the 1970s, Albert Collins was scheduled for a matinee at a modest Culver City club where Montoya had performed the night before. The club owner allowed Collins to use the drum kit. When Montoya arrived to retrieve his equipment and learned someone else had played it, he voiced his irritation. Collins phoned the club, apologized, and proved gracious. Montoya stayed for the show and later recounted to an interviewer, “…it just tore my head off. The thing that I had seen and felt with Albert King came pouring back on me when I saw Albert Collins.”
Collins soon required a drummer for a tour of the American Northwest and contacted Montoya. Throughout the run the guitarist mentored his younger bandmate on blues tradition and life on the road. Montoya stayed with Collins for five years and began doubling on guitar; Collins spent hotel downtime coaching him, urging him to follow changes and craft solos by feel rather than calculation. The two grew so close that Collins called Montoya his “son.” After Montoya departed the group they remained in touch until Collins’s death from cancer in 1993.
By the early 1980s Montoya had returned to the local club circuit, bartending and playing guitar with regional acts. One night John Mayall attended a performance to celebrate his birthday. Montoya responded by covering Otis Rush’s “All Your Love (I Miss Loving).” Mayall left with a soundboard recording; when he chose to revive the Bluesbreakers after a sixteen-year absence, he reached out to Montoya. Despite the weight of succeeding Clapton and Peter Green, Montoya accepted. Mayall had not issued an album in five years, yet the 1985 set Behind the Iron Curtain reaffirmed his standing, due in significant measure to Montoya’s intense guitar work. A decade with the Bluesbreakers preceded Montoya’s decision to record under his own name.
His first leader effort, 1995’s Gotta Mind to Travel (Silvertone in the U.K., Blind Pig in the U.S.), featured final recorded appearances by Collins along with Mayall, Debbie Davies, and Al Kooper; it captured the W.C. Handy Best New Blues Artist award. Subsequent Blind Pig releases Ya’ Think I’d Know Better (1996) and Just Let Go (1997) both charted. Suspicion arrived on Alligator in 2000 and peaked at number ten, after which the road band spent more than a year touring worldwide. Can’t Look Back followed in 2002 and climbed to number two, prompting an additional three-plus years on the road. Dirty Deal emerged in 2007 after an extended break and again reached number two. Festival headlining dates across Europe and Asia increased; a European licensing arrangement with Germany’s Ruf Records yielded I Want It All Back (2010, number four) and the double-disc live set Songs from the Road (2014, number 15), which Montoya supported with U.S. club and festival dates. Hard Truth, issued by Alligator in 2017, rose to number five. After further festival appearances he recorded Coming in Hot, released in August 2019. Songwriting contributions came from the Montoya–Dave Steen team, Tom Hambridge and Richard Fleming, plus Warren Haynes, Frankie Miller, Jeff Paris, and Collins. Bob Glaub and Mike Mennell handled bass, Mike Finnigan played keyboards, Billy Watts and Johnny Lee Schell contributed rhythm guitar, and Tony Braunagel, who also produced, sat behind the drums.
Pandemic restrictions halted touring after Montoya’s final pre-COVID festival dates in the U.S. and Europe. He resumed road work in 2021 and, in early 2023, entered keyboardist Jeff Paris’s studio (Jeff’s Garage) with Paris and co-producer Braunagel. The sessions featured five originals plus additional material, performed by a core quartet of Paris, bassist Nathan Brown, and drummer Rena Beavers, augmented by selective appearances from Braunagel and guitarists Lee Roy Parnell, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Dave Steen (who supplied two songs). Writing on the Wall appeared in September 2023 as Montoya’s sixth Alligator album.
Albums
