Biography
Blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter Sonny Rhodes possesses such abundant musical ideas and songwriting skill that he seems poised to fill the void created by the deaths of blues legends Albert King and Albert Collins. Born on November 3, 1940, in Smithville, Texas, as the sixth and final child of sharecroppers Le Roy and Julia Smith, Rhodes received his first guitar at age eight as a Christmas gift yet did not begin playing in earnest until he turned twelve. While still a teenager he started performing in Smithville and the surrounding Austin scene during the late 1950s. Early exposure to T-Bone Walker left a lasting mark on his style, and he has also cited Pee Wee Crayton and B.B. King among his primary influences. His initial group, Clarence Smith & the Daylighters, worked the Austin blues clubs until Rhodes enlisted in the Navy upon completing high school.
Stationed in California, he served as a radio operator and closed-circuit disc jockey aboard Navy vessels, punctuating country and blues records with off-color jokes for the crew. In 1958 Rhodes cut the single “I’ll Never Let You Go When Something Is Wrong” for Domino Records in Austin and taught himself bass, later supporting Freddie King and his friend Albert Collins on the instrument. After his discharge he settled back in California in his mid-twenties, spending several years in Fresno before securing a contract with Galaxy Records in Oakland. There he released the 1966 single “I Don’t Love You No More” backed with “All Night Long I Play the Blues,” followed by another Galaxy release in 1967. Frustrated with Bay Area labels, he issued “Cigarette Blues” b/w “Bloodstone Beat” on his own imprint in 1978.
A 1976 European tour opened new opportunities abroad, resulting in several recordings on European labels that achieved limited commercial success, among them the album I Don’t Want My Blues Colored Bright and the live set In Europe. In 1985 he again took matters into his own hands, producing the album Just Blues for his Rhodesway label. Momentum returned in the late 1980s when Rhodes began recording for Ichiban and subsequently Kingsnake. His Ichiban output included Disciple of the Blues in 1991 and Living Too Close to the Edge in 1992. Greater distribution followed with the Sanford, Florida-based Kingsnake label; aside from the Evidence Music compact-disc reissue of the 1985 Just Blues, his strongest later work comprises the Kingsnake titles The Blues Is My Best Friend and the 1995 release Out of Control. These recordings showcase Rhodes as a fully realized songwriter and earned strong praise from blues critics.
Stationed in California, he served as a radio operator and closed-circuit disc jockey aboard Navy vessels, punctuating country and blues records with off-color jokes for the crew. In 1958 Rhodes cut the single “I’ll Never Let You Go When Something Is Wrong” for Domino Records in Austin and taught himself bass, later supporting Freddie King and his friend Albert Collins on the instrument. After his discharge he settled back in California in his mid-twenties, spending several years in Fresno before securing a contract with Galaxy Records in Oakland. There he released the 1966 single “I Don’t Love You No More” backed with “All Night Long I Play the Blues,” followed by another Galaxy release in 1967. Frustrated with Bay Area labels, he issued “Cigarette Blues” b/w “Bloodstone Beat” on his own imprint in 1978.
A 1976 European tour opened new opportunities abroad, resulting in several recordings on European labels that achieved limited commercial success, among them the album I Don’t Want My Blues Colored Bright and the live set In Europe. In 1985 he again took matters into his own hands, producing the album Just Blues for his Rhodesway label. Momentum returned in the late 1980s when Rhodes began recording for Ichiban and subsequently Kingsnake. His Ichiban output included Disciple of the Blues in 1991 and Living Too Close to the Edge in 1992. Greater distribution followed with the Sanford, Florida-based Kingsnake label; aside from the Evidence Music compact-disc reissue of the 1985 Just Blues, his strongest later work comprises the Kingsnake titles The Blues Is My Best Friend and the 1995 release Out of Control. These recordings showcase Rhodes as a fully realized songwriter and earned strong praise from blues critics.
Albums
