Rhythm Rockers

Born on 20 August 1935 in Pete’s Corner, Alabama, USA, Malone had already taken up guitar and harmonica before his thirteenth birthday and started playing dances and parties at seventeen. A one-year Air Force stint in the mid-1950s preceded the formation of his first group, the Rockers, later renamed Tops In Blues. After leaving military service in 1957 he organized the Rhythm Rockers in Spokane, Washington, and the band toured extensively throughout the west coast. Settling in Oakland, California, in 1966, he cut sides for the Galaxy label and scored a hit with ‘It’s A Shame’ in 1972; further releases followed on Red Lightnin’, Cherrie, Paris Album and Eli Mile High. A soulful vocalist equally at home on piano or guitar, he moves convincingly between straight blues, rocking R&B and funk-influenced material. Treated for cancer in the late 1990s, he is now in remission.