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Itinerary
 Carl Weathersby’s life, just like his music is a mixture of two influences: his life, urban and rural, his music, soul and blues. He was born in 1953 in Jackson, Mississippi, but relocated before his first birthday with his family to rural Meadeville, Mississippi. He would spend his pre-teenage years here growing accustomed to the life so many blues greats have in common. At the age of 13, Carl’s family relocated once again, but this time north, to East Chicago, Indiana, the community he calls home today.
It is hard to identify Carl’s formative years musically since essentially his entire youth was that. Carl grew up in a musical extended family. His first instrument was the drums, as that was the instrument of choice of many of his relatives, but about the time he moved north to Indiana, he switched to guitar for good. Carl grew up wanting to be a Temptation, but still remained immersed in the blues of his elders. A seminal influence on Carl during his teenage years was a friend of the family: none other than Albert King. Carl would later spend several years in his band.
In between his youth and becoming a professional musician, Carl had several lifetimes’ worth of experience. He served several years in the army, and saw duty in Vietnam. He was a steel mill worker in Indiana, a policeman in Louisiana, and a prison guard to boot. But Carl’s life calling was to become a musician, a trade he has now practiced for most of his adult life.
After three years with Albert King, from 1979 to 1981, Carl joined the Sons of Blues, fronted by Harmonica ace Billy Branch, with whom he remained for the next fourteen years before going out on his own. From 1996 to 2002 Carl released four highly acclaimed CDs on Evidence: “Don’t Lay Your Blues on Me” (1996), “Looking Out My Window” (1997), “Restless Feeling” (1998), and “Come to Papa” (2002). During this time, Carl came to be regarded as one of the most electrifying live performers in music, not only for his ferocious guitar solos, but also for the break-neck energy he packs into every live performance.
A serious illness forced Carl to take a step back from music just a few years ago, but after a period of introspection and recovery, he is back and stronger than ever with what many are saying is his best recording to date, “Hold On,” (Woodcutter, 2004). On this seminal recording, Carl weaves all the separate strands of his life—his rural roots and his urban existence, his passion for not only soul and blues, but for soulful blues—into a rich musical tapestry that ranks him as an artist of the first order.
Many chapters are left to be written in Carl Weathersby’s musical biography. One thing is for certain. He is poised to take the blues to new musical heights in the twenty-first century. Photo Credit: Gene Tomko |
