Biography
Curtis Salgado stands as a decorated mainstay in American blues, having energized crowds from the 1960s onward through vocals that fuse soul and R&B with blues heritage and through commanding harmonica performances. His vocal timbre merges a lightly gritty quality with rich baritone warmth, uniting gospel, soul, and contemporary blues phrasing into a delivery charged with feeling. Over the decades he has shared stages with lasting blues and rock ensembles such as the Robert Cray Band, Roomful of Blues, and, for a short stretch, Santana. His first outing as bandleader arrived with Curtis Salgado & the Stilettos in 1991. International recognition followed with the 1997 release Hit It 'N Quit It, issued jointly with Terry Robb, which carried him overseas for the initial time. Four Shanachie albums appeared after he joined that roster in 1999, among them the chart-topping Soul Activated in 2001. Following recovery from liver and lung cancer, Clean Getaway emerged in 2008. He moved to Alligator for the prizewinning Soul Shot in 2012 and joined Alan Hager on the widely praised Rough Cut in 2018. Damage Control marked his return to recording in 2021.
Born February 4, 1954, in Everett, Washington, Salgado grew up amid household enthusiasm for music, with parents devoted to classic jazz and blues figures ranging from Kid Ory to Fats Waller and with siblings attuned to soul vocalists like Wilson Pickett alongside blues icons such as Muddy Waters. An early encounter with Count Basie at age 13 prompted thoughts of a musical livelihood, and after first absorbing Little Walter he took up harmonica, guided partly by an instructional volume supplied by his mother. Paying engagements began at 16, and within a few years he and his group the Nighthawks, distinct from the long-established Washington, D.C., band of identical name, drew strong crowds throughout Pacific Northwest venues. In 1975, while based in Eugene, Oregon, Salgado and fellow local blues enthusiasts launched a festival that placed him and his colleagues alongside, and frequently in support of, luminaries including Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Albert Collins, Big Walter Horton, and Otis Rush. During a characteristically high-energy 1977 performance in Eugene with Salgado & the Nighthawks, he conversed between sets with an ardent attendee who proved to be John Belushi, then filming Animal House locally. Belushi, whose preferences had centered on metal and hard rock, developed a friendship with Salgado that converted him into a blues devotee; many of the listening recommendations Salgado supplied later shaped the track selection for the Blues Brothers’ bestselling Briefcase Full of Blues.
A parallel friendship formed with emerging guitarist and songwriter Robert Cray, who performed regularly in the Pacific Northwest during that period. When the Nighthawks began to disband, Salgado joined Cray’s ensemble on harmonica and vocals, appearing on the 1980 debut Who’s Been Talkin’ before departing in 1982. From 1984 to 1986 he belonged to Roomful of Blues and contributed to their 1988 collaboration with Earl King, Glazed. He subsequently assembled Curtis Salgado & the Stilettos, which, after extensive Pacific Northwest club work, issued its self-titled debut in 1991. Longtime admirer Steve Miller enlisted him as opener for the 1992 summer tour, and in 1994 Salgado paused his own band activities to perform with Santana across the United States.
The solo album More Than You Can Chew appeared in 1995, followed a year later by renewed touring with Miller and the additional release Hit It 'N Quit It. Shanachie Records signed Salgado in 1999 and issued Wiggle Outta This that same year, with Soul Activated arriving in 2001 and Strong Suspicion in 2004 amid continued road work. Liver cancer was diagnosed in 2006, prompting treatment that included transplantation; lung cancer surfaced two years later, yet he was declared cancer-free in time for the 2008 album Clean Getaway. Alligator Records welcomed him in fall 2011, releasing Soul Shot in February 2012. Another lung growth was identified that July, but surgery led physicians to anticipate full recovery, which occurred. Three Blues Music Awards followed in 2013: B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year, and Soul Blues Album of the Year. While regaining strength Salgado composed extensively, entering the studio in 2015 with 17 original songs that he reduced to eleven of his own plus Johnny Guitar Watson’s “Hook Me Up.” He shared production duties with Marlon McClain and Tony Braunagel while also authoring the horn arrangements; Beautiful Lowdown reached stores in April 2016. The 2018 collaboration Rough Cut with veteran guitarist and vocalist Alan Hager featured interpretations of material by Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Son House, and others, ascended the charts, and prompted joint appearances across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Damage Control, self-produced by Salgado for Alligator and captured across three studios in Nashville, Studio City, and San Jose with rotating ensembles of notable players that included Cajun accordionist and vocalist Wayne Toups, appeared in February 2021 and contained thirteen tracks.
Born February 4, 1954, in Everett, Washington, Salgado grew up amid household enthusiasm for music, with parents devoted to classic jazz and blues figures ranging from Kid Ory to Fats Waller and with siblings attuned to soul vocalists like Wilson Pickett alongside blues icons such as Muddy Waters. An early encounter with Count Basie at age 13 prompted thoughts of a musical livelihood, and after first absorbing Little Walter he took up harmonica, guided partly by an instructional volume supplied by his mother. Paying engagements began at 16, and within a few years he and his group the Nighthawks, distinct from the long-established Washington, D.C., band of identical name, drew strong crowds throughout Pacific Northwest venues. In 1975, while based in Eugene, Oregon, Salgado and fellow local blues enthusiasts launched a festival that placed him and his colleagues alongside, and frequently in support of, luminaries including Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Albert Collins, Big Walter Horton, and Otis Rush. During a characteristically high-energy 1977 performance in Eugene with Salgado & the Nighthawks, he conversed between sets with an ardent attendee who proved to be John Belushi, then filming Animal House locally. Belushi, whose preferences had centered on metal and hard rock, developed a friendship with Salgado that converted him into a blues devotee; many of the listening recommendations Salgado supplied later shaped the track selection for the Blues Brothers’ bestselling Briefcase Full of Blues.
A parallel friendship formed with emerging guitarist and songwriter Robert Cray, who performed regularly in the Pacific Northwest during that period. When the Nighthawks began to disband, Salgado joined Cray’s ensemble on harmonica and vocals, appearing on the 1980 debut Who’s Been Talkin’ before departing in 1982. From 1984 to 1986 he belonged to Roomful of Blues and contributed to their 1988 collaboration with Earl King, Glazed. He subsequently assembled Curtis Salgado & the Stilettos, which, after extensive Pacific Northwest club work, issued its self-titled debut in 1991. Longtime admirer Steve Miller enlisted him as opener for the 1992 summer tour, and in 1994 Salgado paused his own band activities to perform with Santana across the United States.
The solo album More Than You Can Chew appeared in 1995, followed a year later by renewed touring with Miller and the additional release Hit It 'N Quit It. Shanachie Records signed Salgado in 1999 and issued Wiggle Outta This that same year, with Soul Activated arriving in 2001 and Strong Suspicion in 2004 amid continued road work. Liver cancer was diagnosed in 2006, prompting treatment that included transplantation; lung cancer surfaced two years later, yet he was declared cancer-free in time for the 2008 album Clean Getaway. Alligator Records welcomed him in fall 2011, releasing Soul Shot in February 2012. Another lung growth was identified that July, but surgery led physicians to anticipate full recovery, which occurred. Three Blues Music Awards followed in 2013: B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year, and Soul Blues Album of the Year. While regaining strength Salgado composed extensively, entering the studio in 2015 with 17 original songs that he reduced to eleven of his own plus Johnny Guitar Watson’s “Hook Me Up.” He shared production duties with Marlon McClain and Tony Braunagel while also authoring the horn arrangements; Beautiful Lowdown reached stores in April 2016. The 2018 collaboration Rough Cut with veteran guitarist and vocalist Alan Hager featured interpretations of material by Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Son House, and others, ascended the charts, and prompted joint appearances across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Damage Control, self-produced by Salgado for Alligator and captured across three studios in Nashville, Studio City, and San Jose with rotating ensembles of notable players that included Cajun accordionist and vocalist Wayne Toups, appeared in February 2021 and contained thirteen tracks.
Albums
Singles
