(Aurora "Rory" Block)
DISCOGRAPHY 1979-2022 (36CD/DVD)
BIOGRAPHY
Aurora "Rory" Block (born November 6, 1949, Princeton, New Jersey,
United States) is an American blues guitarist and singer, a notable
exponent of the country blues style.
Aurora Block was born in Princeton and grew up in Manhattan. Her
father, Allan Block, ran a sandal shop in Greenwich Village in the
1960s, and the influence of the Greenwich Village folk music scene,
such as Peter Rowan, Maria Muldaur, and John Sebastian, tempted Block
to study classical guitar. At the age of 14, she met guitarist Stefan
Grossman, who introduced her to the music of Mississippi Delta blues
guitarists.
Block began listening to old albums, transcribing them, and learning
to play the songs. At age 15, she left home to seek out the remaining
blues giants, such as Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, and
Son House, and hone her craft in the traditional manner of blues
musicians; then she traveled to Berkeley, California, where she played
in clubs and coffeehouses.
After retiring temporarily to raise a family, Block returned to the
music industry in the 1970s with middling success until signing with
Rounder Records in 1981, who encouraged her to return to her love for
the classical blues form. Since then she has carved out her own niche,
releasing numerous critically acclaimed albums of original and
traditional songs, including many Robert Johnson covers, such as
"Terraplane Blues" and "Come on in My Kitchen".
Block has won five W. C. Handy Awards, two for "Traditional Blues
Female Artist" (1997, 1998) and three for "Acoustic Blues Album of the
Year" (1996, 1999, 2007). She also won NAIRD awards for "Best Adult
Contemporary Album of the Year" in 1994 for Angel of Mercy and again
in 1997 for Tornado.
Angel of Mercy, Turning Point, and Tornado included mostly original
compositions. However, Mama's Blues, Ain't I a Woman and When a Woman
Gets the Blues featured songs written by Tommy Johnson, Robert
Johnson, Lottie Beaman, and Mattie Delaney.