Drew Nelson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Drew Nelson is a Canadian
blues
singer, songwriter
, guitarist
and recording artist. Nelson is particularly known for his slide guitar
playing. He has been playing professionally for over thirty years.
, Ontario
. His professional career commenced in the 1970s, particularly as a result of his association with the late blues singer and harmonica player Back Alley John
(d. 2006), where Nelson was the lead guitarist in and co-founder of the Back Alley John Revue. Both Nelson and John were instrumental in developing the career of Sue Foley
, whose professional career commenced as a sixteen year-old singer in the Back Alley John Revue.
The Back Alley John Revue, formed in 1980, initially played in Ottawa clubs and busked
on the streets of Ottawa during the early 1980s, particularly in Ottawa's Byward Market
, playing blues for passersby in front of the historic Chateau Lafayette House tavern.
Nelson's solo career commenced when the Back Alley John Revue broke up in 1986, followed by the relocation of John to Calgary, Alberta.
Nelson achieved early success as a solo artist when "Nothing to Show", an award-winning song originally recorded with the Back Alley John Revue and later recorded by the Drew Nelson Band, was selected for inclusion in the 1991 Saturday Night Blues
compilation album
of Canadian blues music. The album won the 1992 Juno Award
for Best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year
.
During this period, Nelson and his band played and recorded with Canadian blues artist Dutch Mason
. Four songs written by Nelson appeared on Mason's 1992 album, You Can't Have Everything, which Nelson also produced. The album was nominated for a 1994 Juno Award
for Best Blues or Gospel Album
. Over several years, Nelson and his band either opened or acted as the backing band for such artists as B.B. King, Bo Diddley
, Buddy Guy
, Junior Wells
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
, Little Richard
, Eric Burdon
and Taj Mahal
.
After a period of self-imposed semi-retirement, Nelson and a reconfigured band returned to performing in 2009.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and recording artist. Nelson is particularly known for his slide guitar
Slide (guitar technique)
A slide is a legato guitar technique where the player sounds one note, and then moves their finger up or down the fretboard to another fret. If done properly, the other note should also sound....
playing. He has been playing professionally for over thirty years.
History
Drew Nelson has based his music career primarily in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. His professional career commenced in the 1970s, particularly as a result of his association with the late blues singer and harmonica player Back Alley John
Back Alley John
Back Alley John , was a Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player.-Beginnings, 1969-1971: Ottawa to Venice, California:...
(d. 2006), where Nelson was the lead guitarist in and co-founder of the Back Alley John Revue. Both Nelson and John were instrumental in developing the career of Sue Foley
Sue Foley
Sue Foley is a Canadian blues singer and guitarist.-Career:Foley has been writing and playing professionally since 1984. She has recorded ten albums, for both Antone's Records and Shanachie Records. She has spent over fourteen years on the road as a bandleader, lead vocalist, guitarist and...
, whose professional career commenced as a sixteen year-old singer in the Back Alley John Revue.
The Back Alley John Revue, formed in 1980, initially played in Ottawa clubs and busked
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
on the streets of Ottawa during the early 1980s, particularly in Ottawa's Byward Market
Byward Market
ByWard Market is a district in Lower Town located east of the government & business district, surrounding the market buildings and open-air market on George, York, ByWard and William Streets.The district is bordered on the west by Sussex Drive, on the...
, playing blues for passersby in front of the historic Chateau Lafayette House tavern.
Nelson's solo career commenced when the Back Alley John Revue broke up in 1986, followed by the relocation of John to Calgary, Alberta.
Nelson achieved early success as a solo artist when "Nothing to Show", an award-winning song originally recorded with the Back Alley John Revue and later recorded by the Drew Nelson Band, was selected for inclusion in the 1991 Saturday Night Blues
Saturday Night Blues (album)
Saturday Night Blues is a compilation album of live performances by Canadian blues performers, released by Stony Plain Records and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1991...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of Canadian blues music. The album won the 1992 Juno Award
Juno Awards of 1992
The Juno Awards of 1992, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 29 March 1992 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Rick Moranis was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on CBC Television from 9 pm Eastern.Nominations were...
for Best Roots and Traditional Album of the Year
Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Solo
The Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Solo is presented annually at Canada's Juno Awards to honour the best album of the year in the roots and/or traditional music genres...
.
During this period, Nelson and his band played and recorded with Canadian blues artist Dutch Mason
Dutch Mason
Dutch Mason, CM was a Canadian musician from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was inducted into the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2005.-Career:...
. Four songs written by Nelson appeared on Mason's 1992 album, You Can't Have Everything, which Nelson also produced. The album was nominated for a 1994 Juno Award
Juno Awards of 1994
The Juno Awards of 1994, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 20 March 1994 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Roch Voisine was the host for the ceremonies, which were taped that afternoon for broadcast that evening on CBC...
for Best Blues or Gospel Album
Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year
The Juno Award for "Blues Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1994, as recognition each year for the best blues album in Canada. The award was previously a combined blues and gospel award category.-Best Blues/Gospel Album :...
. Over several years, Nelson and his band either opened or acted as the backing band for such artists as B.B. King, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
, Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
and Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
.
After a period of self-imposed semi-retirement, Nelson and a reconfigured band returned to performing in 2009.
The Drew Nelson Band
- 2006 30 Odd Years (Capon)
- 2001 Just Because (Capon)
- 1994 Mr. Nelson's Neighbourhood (Capon)
- 1990 The Honeymoon's Over (Capon)
- 1989 The Drew Nelson Band (Capon)
Compilation Inclusions; Contributions to Others
- 2006 Saturday Night Blues: 20 YearsSaturday Night Blues: 20 YearsSaturday Night Blues: 20 Years is a 2006 2 CD compilation album, released by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and, internationally, by the Universal Music Group, of live performances of Canadian blues artists, as featured on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program Saturday Night...
(CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster... - 2001 25 Years of Stony Plain (Stony PlainStony Plain RecordsStony Plain Records is a major Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk and blues. The label was the recipient of a 2003 Western Canadian Music Award for "Independent Record Label/Distributor of the Year"....
- 1997 Absolute Blues, Vol. 2 (Stony Plain)
- 1996 20 Years of Stony Plain (Stony Plain)
- 1992 Dutch Mason, You Can't Have Everything (Stony Plain)
- 1992 Saturday Night BluesSaturday Night Blues (album)Saturday Night Blues is a compilation album of live performances by Canadian blues performers, released by Stony Plain Records and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1991...
(Stony PlainStony Plain RecordsStony Plain Records is a major Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk and blues. The label was the recipient of a 2003 Western Canadian Music Award for "Independent Record Label/Distributor of the Year"....
/CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
) - 1983 Share CHEZ 83