Biography
Michael Hill grew up in the Bronx after his 1952 birth there, surrounded by a working-class neighborhood where families watched over one another’s children. He relocated to Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1988. Early on, the guitarist, singer, and songwriter absorbed the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, whom he saw perform five times in the New York area, including at Woodstock; those concerts crystallized his career path. He took up the guitar in 1970 and was soon appearing with rock and soul groups by 1972. Additional songwriting inspirations came from socially engaged figures such as Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, and Curtis Mayfield. Guitarists B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Albert King, and Carlos Santana also shaped his approach, which merges those voices with his own. Literary encounters with Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, and other Black novelists prompted him to address both topical concerns and conventional blues themes in his writing.
From the mid-1970s onward Hill worked as a sideman or session musician alongside Little Richard, Archie Bell, Harry Belafonte, and Carla Thomas. In the mid-1980s he joined Living Colour’s Vernon Reid to help found the Black Rock Coalition, a New York organization supporting Black rock musicians, technicians, and visual artists. Alligator Records noticed him in 1993; the Chicago label issued Bloodlines the following year, a release some reviewers named the strongest blues debut of 1994. Two years later came Have Mercy. Both albums appear on Alligator and weave extensive social commentary throughout their tracks. Critics responded favorably and sales proved solid, yet programmers at certain American festivals and clubs still deem the music too “heavy.” Hill has therefore concentrated touring efforts on clubs and festivals throughout Germany, France, Scandinavia, Austria, England, Italy, Brazil, and Australia.
He maintains that his politically charged material continues an authentic blues lineage in which artists confront societal ills directly. Leadbelly, Mance Lipscomb, and other classic performers of the 1920s and 1930s routinely tackled such subjects, a precedent Hill consciously follows. Tracks including “Falling Through the Cracks,” “Bluestime in America,” “Why We Play the Blues,” “Evil in the Air,” and “Presumed Innocent” thereby expose another dimension of experience to the largely middle-class, suburban, white listeners who form the core blues audience. Onstage with his trio the Blues Mob—comprising keyboards, bass, and drums—Hill pairs original material with occasional interpretive covers. His Steinberger guitar work spans slow blues ballads and fiery blues-rock shuffles that spotlight rock influences such as Jeff Beck, Hendrix, and Santana.
Taken together, the commanding guitar technique, sturdy vocals, and reflective lyrics supply the components for major blues recognition, and Michael Hill’s Blues Mob continue to advance the music’s development. After parting with Alligator they returned in 1998 with New York State of Blues. Subsequent independent releases include Audience of One on Inthemix in 2000, Larger Than Life on Singular in 2001, the concert recording Electric Storyland Live on Ruf in 2003, and Black Gold and Goddesses Bold on JSP in 2005.
From the mid-1970s onward Hill worked as a sideman or session musician alongside Little Richard, Archie Bell, Harry Belafonte, and Carla Thomas. In the mid-1980s he joined Living Colour’s Vernon Reid to help found the Black Rock Coalition, a New York organization supporting Black rock musicians, technicians, and visual artists. Alligator Records noticed him in 1993; the Chicago label issued Bloodlines the following year, a release some reviewers named the strongest blues debut of 1994. Two years later came Have Mercy. Both albums appear on Alligator and weave extensive social commentary throughout their tracks. Critics responded favorably and sales proved solid, yet programmers at certain American festivals and clubs still deem the music too “heavy.” Hill has therefore concentrated touring efforts on clubs and festivals throughout Germany, France, Scandinavia, Austria, England, Italy, Brazil, and Australia.
He maintains that his politically charged material continues an authentic blues lineage in which artists confront societal ills directly. Leadbelly, Mance Lipscomb, and other classic performers of the 1920s and 1930s routinely tackled such subjects, a precedent Hill consciously follows. Tracks including “Falling Through the Cracks,” “Bluestime in America,” “Why We Play the Blues,” “Evil in the Air,” and “Presumed Innocent” thereby expose another dimension of experience to the largely middle-class, suburban, white listeners who form the core blues audience. Onstage with his trio the Blues Mob—comprising keyboards, bass, and drums—Hill pairs original material with occasional interpretive covers. His Steinberger guitar work spans slow blues ballads and fiery blues-rock shuffles that spotlight rock influences such as Jeff Beck, Hendrix, and Santana.
Taken together, the commanding guitar technique, sturdy vocals, and reflective lyrics supply the components for major blues recognition, and Michael Hill’s Blues Mob continue to advance the music’s development. After parting with Alligator they returned in 1998 with New York State of Blues. Subsequent independent releases include Audience of One on Inthemix in 2000, Larger Than Life on Singular in 2001, the concert recording Electric Storyland Live on Ruf in 2003, and Black Gold and Goddesses Bold on JSP in 2005.