Biography
Guitarist Smokey Wilson, based in Los Angeles, impressed dedicated blues listeners soon after he launched a determined push toward a complete professional career. His Bullseye Blues album Smoke n' Fire, issued in 1993, evoked the intense spirit of the Mississippi Delta where he spent his early years. Robert Lee Wilson had already lived and performed alongside Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes, Big Jack Johnson, Frank Frost, and other established Mississippi figures before he moved to Los Angeles in 1970 at age 35. Instead of pursuing a path centered on constant road work, he founded the Pioneer Club in Watts, fronted its house band, and welcomed top-tier visiting artists including Joe Turner, Percy Mayfield, Pee Wee Crayton, Albert Collins, and many more.
Early on, Wilson entered the studio only occasionally, and his Big Town LPs did not fully showcase his strengths. A 1983 Murray Brothers session, later reissued by Blind Pig and featuring harpist Rod Piazza plus Hollywood Fats on rhythm guitar, signaled a clear change in direction, showing he was prepared to bring a Mississippi imprint to Southern California blues. Smoke n' Fire from 1993, the 1995 follow-up The Real Deal (a title also used that year for albums by John Primer and Buddy Guy), and 1997's The Man from Mars place Smokey Wilson among the most striking late arrivals in the blues field.
Early on, Wilson entered the studio only occasionally, and his Big Town LPs did not fully showcase his strengths. A 1983 Murray Brothers session, later reissued by Blind Pig and featuring harpist Rod Piazza plus Hollywood Fats on rhythm guitar, signaled a clear change in direction, showing he was prepared to bring a Mississippi imprint to Southern California blues. Smoke n' Fire from 1993, the 1995 follow-up The Real Deal (a title also used that year for albums by John Primer and Buddy Guy), and 1997's The Man from Mars place Smokey Wilson among the most striking late arrivals in the blues field.
Albums
