Biography
Who is Joe Bonamassa?
Early life and real name
Joseph Leonard Bonamassa was born in New Hartford, United States, and spent his childhood years growing up in Utica, New York. His family has roots of Italian descent. His father loved music and played British blues rock records by Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck for him. Joe began playing the guitar when he reached age four. As a youth, he received training and guidance from American guitarist Danny Gatton. During his childhood, his father gave him a crimson 1972 Fender Stratocaster instrument that he referred to by the name Rosie.
When he was twelve years old, Joe formed his own musical group named Smokin' Joe Bonamassa. The band performed live concerts on weekends in western New York and Pennsylvania cities like Scranton and Buffalo because he had school on weekdays. In the year 1989, he opened for B.B. King at approximately twenty different live shows. Before reaching the age of eighteen, he played in a band called Bloodline alongside the sons of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger, and Berry Oakley.
Music career and albums
Joe Bonamassa released his debut solo studio album titled A New Day Yesterday in the year 2000 through his independent record label J&R Adventures. The release featured original tunes alongside cover songs by artists like Rory Gallagher, Jethro Tull, and Warren Haynes, with production handled by Tom Dowd. Throughout the following years, he put out multiple studio albums that reached top positions on Billboard music charts. In 2009, he performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London where Eric Clapton joined him for a duet on stage.
His solo studio project Different Shades of Blue came out featuring entirely original songs written in Nashville alongside other songwriters. In May 2015, he won a Blues Music Award in the Instrumentalist in the Guitar category. Fender released his signature amplifier model in April 2018. Later in his career, he released additional charting records including Time Clocks, Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, Tales of Time, Live at the Hollywood Bowl, and Breakthrough.
Collaborations and foundations
Joe Bonamassa teamed up with singer Beth Hart to record collaborative music projects. Their first album together was titled Don't Explain, which featured covers of soul songs chosen by the artists and producer Kevin Shirley. Their second collaborative album, Seesaw, earned a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Blues Album in 2013. They later released another collaborative project titled Black Coffee in January 2018.
In 2011, Joe started the nonprofit organization Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation to support music education. He also created an independent record label named Keeping the Blues Alive Records in 2020 to promote the talents of other blues musicians. Aside from his solo work and foundation, he plays guitar and sings as a member of the hard rock supergroup Black Country Communion and the jazz-funk band Rock Candy Funk Party.
Birthday and age
Joe Bonamassa was born on May 8, 1977, which makes Joe 49 years old today. That birthday falls under the Taurus sign. Joe shares the date with 37 other famous people.
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