⬇️ JOE BEARD ⬇️
(9CD/DVD)
Born and raised in Ashland, MS, guitarist Joe Beard grew up with the
Murphy brothers, one of whom later found an international following as
Matt "Guitar" Murphy. Guitarist Nathan Beauregard lived with Beard's
cousin, so he was surrounded by aspiring and veteran blues musicians while
growing up, and he began singing at an early age. Beard became interested
in playing guitar via the Murphy brothers, who sat in with a young B.B.
King when he played at the Roosevelt Lake Club. Beard began to learn
guitar at age 17 from Ernest Scruggs, a neighbor, before heading to
Chicago.
Beard moved to Rochester, NY, and from time to time would visit one of
his brothers in Chicago. He quickly became enamored of the blues being
played in clubs there by people like Jimmy Reed and Sonny Boy Williamson.
Beard sat in with John Lee Hooker one night and received encouraging words
from Hooker, and also later sat in with his idol, Muddy Waters.
While in Rochester, he formed the Soul Brothers Six, playing bass and
singing, but he didn't perform in public on guitar until 1965. Beard
befriended classic blues guitarist Son House, who was a neighbor in
Rochester, and played a concert for students at the University of
Rochester in 1968. Beard worked as an electrician by day and would
occasionally play out at night and on weekends for most of the '60s on
through to the '80s.
He has a reputation as one of the best local players around, and though
he may not be a household name in other parts of the U.S., he toured
Europe in 1983 and did studio and stage work with Buster Benton, Lafayette
Leake, and Memphis Slim. At the famed BK Lounge, Beard and his backing
bands opened for Bobby Bland, Albert King, and others. More recently,
Beard performed at President George H.W. Bush's inaugural gala. In 1990,
he recorded an album for Kingsnake Records, No More Cherry Rose, which was
well received by the blues radio community.
Blues UnionBeard recorded an album with Ronnie Earl's band for the
California-based AudioQuest label, Blues Union (1996). Accompanying him
are Hammond B-3 organist Bruce Katz and tenor saxophonist David "Fathead"
Newman. The album was a critical success, winning Offbeat Magazine's Blues
Album of the Year award. He followed it up with 1998's For Real and 2000's
Dealin', both records featuring Duke Robillard.