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Boz Scaggs
After first finding acclaim as a member of the Steve Miller Band, singer/songwriter Boz Scaggs went on to enjoy considerable solo success in the 1970s. Born William Royce Scaggs in Ohio on June 8, 1944, he was raised in Oklahoma and Texas, and while attending prep school in Dallas met guitarist Steve Miller.
After joining Miller's group the Marksmen as a vocalist in 1959, the pair later attended the University of Wisconsin together, playing in blues bands like the Ardells and the Fabulous Knight Trains. In 1963 Scaggs returned to Dallas alone, fronting an R&B unit dubbed the Wigs; after relocating to England, the group promptly disbanded, and two of its members — John Andrews and Bob Arthur — soon formed Mother Earth. Scaggs remained in Europe, singing on street corners; in Sweden he recorded a failed solo LP, 1965's Boz, before returning to the U.S. two years later.
Upon settling in San Francisco, he reunited with Miller, joining the fledgling Steve Miller Band; after recording two acclaimed albums with the group, Children of the Future and Sailor, Scaggs exited in 1968 to mount a solo career. With the aid of Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner, Scaggs secured a contract with Atlantic. Sporting a cameo from Duane Allman, 1968's soulful Boz Scaggs failed to find an audience despite winning critical favor; the track "Loan Me a Dime" later became the subject of a court battle when bluesman Fenton Robinson sued (successfully) for composer credit.
After signing to Columbia, Scaggs teamed with producer Glyn Johns to record 1971's Moments, a skillful blend of rock and R&B which, like its predecessor, failed to make much of an impression on the charts. Scaggs remained a critics' darling over the course of LPs like 1972's My Time and 1974's Slow Dancer, but he did not achieve a commercial breakthrough until 1976's Silk Degrees, which reached number two on the album charts while spawning the Top Three single "Lowdown," as well as the smash "Lido Shuffle." 1977's Down Two Then Left was also a success, and 1980's Middle Man reached the Top Ten on the strength of the singles "Breakdown Dead Ahead" and "Jo Jo."
However, Scaggs spent much of the 1980s in retirement, owning and operating the San Francisco nightclub Slim's and limiting his performances primarily to the club's annual black-tie New Year's Eve concerts. Finally, in 1988 he resurfaced with the album Other Roads, followed three years later by a tour with Donald Fagen's Rock and Soul Revue.
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Boz Scaggs: It's Like Magic, What We Do
by Leo Sidran
Just hearing the name Boz Scaggs evokes a feeling. It's a hip, laid back, soulful, approachable feeling. It's a southern thing. But it's a jny: San Francisco thing too. He is, as his most recent record proclaims, Out Of the Blues. But he's played his share of rock and roll, r&b, and even jazz too. When Boz hit it big in the late '70s with his record Silk Degrees, he was already knee deep in the swamp, with ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs: Out Of The Blues
by Doug Collette
It's been quite a while since Boz Scaggs' massive commercial breakthrough with Silk Degrees (Columbia, 1976), but even longer since he debuted as a solo artist, upon his departure from The Steve Miller Band, with his eponymous (domestic) debut album. Permeated with a soulful sense of the blues---even apart from the late Duane Allman's now-famous incendiary guitar solo on “Loan Me A Dime"---this Atlantic Records LP (produced by Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone magazine) was hardly the only early ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs: A Fool to Care
by Doug Collette
Less is more had to rule the sessions for Boz Scaggs' A Fool to Care. The core quartet of accompanists includes the producer drummer Steve Jordan, who's worked with the likes of Neil Young and Keith Richards, and while, like Memphis (429 Records, 2013), this album was recorded in a musical bastion of America-Nashville Tennessee-the album's twelve tracks proceed with a pithy economy right from the start, with “Rich Woman" and the title track, each of which seem to be ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs at The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
by Doug Collette
Boz Scaggs Flynn Center for the Performing Arts Burlington, Vermont October 20, 2014 The Burlington Vermont stop of Boz Scaggs' “Memphis Tour" found the original member of The Steve Miller Band mixing a hearty selection of earthy numbers with the more polished likes of material from his breakthrough album Silk Degrees (Columbia, 1976). In contrast to his previous performance at the Flynn Center in 2010, a greater proportion of truly soulful songs this mid-autumn night ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs at the NYCB Theatre at Westbury
by Mike Perciaccante
Boz Scaggs NYCB Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY August 3, 2014 Boz Scaggs first came to prominence as a member of the original and bluesier version of the Steve Miller Band. He secured a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968, exited the Steve Miller Band, and in 1969, he released an eponymously titled album. During the past forty-five years, he has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the New York ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs at the Paramount
by Mike Perciaccante
Boz Scaggs The Paramount Huntington, NY May 13, 2014 Boz Scaggs has been producing his own brand of R&B-flavored rock 'n' roll for almost fifty years. Though he recorded an album in 1965 called Boz (Polydor Records), his career didn't take off until he became a member of the original bluesier version of the Steve Miller Band. He exited after recording two albums and in 1969 released an eponymously titled album on Atlantic Records. For ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs: Memphis
by Doug Collette
Boz Scaggs made a household name for himself with the ultra-slick Silk Degrees (Columbia, 1975), but he had already established a solo career for himself in the wake of departing The Steve Miller Band in 1968. Memphis further reaffirms the selective approach the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter has brought to his career in recent years, at the same time reminding that his best work, such as his eponymous debut (Atlantic, 1969)--with its famous Duane Allman guitar solo on “Loan Me ...
Continue ReadingBoz Scaggs, Jill Scott, And Lake Street Dive Are Final Three Headliners Announced For Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival
Source:
Dalmath Associates Inc.
Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival (XRIJF) June 22 to June 30, 2018. Guitarist and singer, Boz Scaggs, will perform on Saturday, June 23. Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter, Jill Scott, will perform on Friday, June 29. Soul pop band, Lake Street Dive, will perform on Thursday, June 28. All shows will take place at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at 10 a.m. only at rochesterjazz.com. To order by phone call (585) 454-2060. Tickets ...
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Something Else! Featured Artist: Boz Scaggs
Source:
Something Else!
We all know Boz Scaggs, right? The guy from Silk Degrees, the 1976 smash that spawned hit single after hit single after hit single—the million-selling “Lowdown," “Lido Shuffle," “What Can I Say," “We're All Alone." The truth is, though, that it was the former Steve Miller sideman's seventh solo release, and Scaggs has continued issuing varied and vital recordings, even if far fewer people have heard them in the post-white suited era. So, enough with the Silk Degrees already. Let's ...
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Santa Cruz Blues Fest: Boz Scaggs, Experience Hendrix, Shorty
Source:
JamBase
PRIMO DAYTIME FEST NEAR THE BAY The 19th Annual Santa Cruz Blues Festival will take place in Aptos Village Park over Memorial Day weekend. The lineup for this year includes: Saturday May 28, 2011 Experience Hendrix featuring: Billy Cox (Band of Gypsys), Steve Vai, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd; David Hidalgo & Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos), Living Colour, North Mississippi Allstars Duo (Luther & Cody); Chris Layton (SRV & Double Trouble), Ernie Isley, Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), ...
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Boz Scaggs Releases Second Standards Album "Speak Low"
Source:
All About Jazz
Five years after his first volume of standards, But Beautiful, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Jazz chart, GRAMMY award winning musician Boz Scaggs offers his second volume of standards and ballads, aptly titled Speak Low (out September 30 on vinyl and wide release on October 28th via Decca). The multi-dimensional singer, whose 1976 album Silk Degrees was one of the landmark pop titles of the decade, began working on Speak Low several years ago. He'd settled on most of ...
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Boz Scaggs to Release New Album "Speak Low"
Source:
Special Ops Media
Five years after his first volume of standards, But Beautiful, debuted at # 1 on the Billboard Jazz chart, GRAMMY award winning musician Boz Scaggs offers his second volume of standards and ballads, aptly titled Speak Low (out September 30 on vinyl and wide release on October 28th via Decca). The multi-dimensional singer, whose 1976 album Silk Degrees was one of the landmark pop titles of the decade, began working on Speak Low several years ago. He'd settled on most ...
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Boz Scaggs Performs at McCallum Theatre
Source:
All About Jazz
Boz Scaggs will appear at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California, on Friday, October 10, 2008, at 8:00pm. The 10th Anniversary season of the Fitz's Jazz Cafe series at the McCallum Theatre opens with Boz Scaggs. One of music's most creative and original artists, Boz Scaggs has combined rock, jazz, R&B, and blues to create a trademark sound, evident in such hits as “Lowdown, “ “Look What You've Done to Me, “ and “Lido Shuffle." Boz Scaggs grew up ...
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Boz Scaggs Brings New Album "Speak Low" on National Tour
Source:
All About Jazz
Five years after his first volume of standards, But Beautiful, debuted at # 1 on the Billboard Jazz chart, GRAMMY award winning musician Boz Scaggs offers his second volume of standards and ballads, aptly titled Speak Low (out September 30 on vinyl and wide release on October 28th via Decca). The multi-dimensional singer, whose 1976 album Silk Degrees was one of the landmark pop titles of the decade, began working on Speak Low several years ago. He'd settled on most ...
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Boz Scaggs Revisits Standards This Fall with 'Speak Low' (Decca)
Source:
All About Jazz
This fall, Decca will release renowned musician Boz Scaggs' Speak Low, the silken-voiced singer's newest collection of standards and first studio album in five years, available on vinyl September 30 and in all other forms October 28. Co-produced with GRAMMY award-winning producer/arranger Gil Goldstein, Scaggs interprets Ellington, Mercer, Rodgers & Hart, and other classic writers and composers. In addition to Goldstein on piano/keyboards, the line up includes Alex Acuna (drums), Bob Sheppard (woodwinds), and Scott Colley (bass). Scaggs began his ...
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Boz Scaggs Tackling Standards on New Album
Source:
All About Jazz
Boz Scaggs is staying on the standards path for his next album.
Scaggs -- who's currently finalizing a label deal for the planned September release of Speak Low the follow-up to 2003's But Beautiful is “a sort of progressive, experimental effort ... along the lines of some of the ideas that Gil Evans explored." Scaggs says the set features “unusual instrumentation" that includes a string trio, bass woodwinds and harp. “It was very challenging to me as a vocalist," he ...
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Frank Sinatra Jr., Dee Dee Bridgewater, Boz Scaggs, and Al Green to Headline Rochester International Jazz Festival 7th Edition June 13-21, 2008
Source:
Dalmath Associates Inc.
800+ Artists, 250+ Concerts Tickets on Sale Now Rochester, NY-- Frank Sinatra Jr. & His Orchestra, Dee Dee Bridgewater with special guest Richard Bona Band, Boz Scaggs, and Al Green will headline the seventh annual Rochester International Jazz Festival (www.rochesterjazz.com) presented by M&T Bank. The nine-day Festival, June 13-21, will deliver a diverse lineup of creative improvised music with more than 800 artists from around the world performing in 250 concerts. Two special ensemble concerts will be presented ...
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