Elvin Bishop

Blues singer, guitarist and songwriter Elvin Bishop was born in California in 1942 but was raised in the Midwest. His musical career began when he met the legendary blues harmonica player Paul Butterfield; Bishop joined Butterfield's band and performed with them for the next five years. His tenure with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band saw Bishop record four albums with them and subsequently earned him a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Bishop has been an influential figure within the blues and rock scene in the US for many years and during the 1970s he played with artists of the calibre of John Lee Hooker, Grateful Dead, B.B. King, Bo Diddley and The Allman Brothers. As a solo artist Bishop is best known for the hit single 'Fooled Around and Fell in Love'. The song, written by Bishop and released in 1975, became an international hit and features some classic guitar playing using his trademark Gibson ES-345. The distinctive vocals on the single were not performed by Bishop, instead he drafted in Jefferson Starship's Mickey Thomas whose vocal tone was felt to suit the song better than Bishop's gravelly blues voice. With 20 studio albums to his credit as a solo performer Bishop has etched his place in blues rock history in the US and continues to record almost 50 years after his first album release.