If you think it’s difficult for legends to live up their legacies, imagine their children following them into the family business and finding their second-generation work being measured by the first-generation yardstick of their parents’ achievements.
Ronnie Baker Brooks knows every chapter in that book. The guitar-slinging son of Blues icon Lonnie Brooks has opened shows for his lionized father and been a member of his band as well. And while the younger Brooks learned well about the foundations and craft of the genre his father helped to shape in the ’70s and beyond, he also began to think about how he would divert from his father’s path and blaze his own sonic trail.
To that end, Ronnie Baker Brooks launched his solo career 13 years ago with the release of Golddigger, an album that heralded his unique vision of taking the Blues into the 21st century.
With 2001’s Take Me Witcha, Brooks established his own identity as a scorching Blues guitarist, but with 2006’s The Torch, he laid out his recipe for the future of Blues, with plenty of Rock volume spiced with Soul, R&B, Funk and Hip Hop. Already a fan favorite from his long association with his father, Brooks expanded his base with The Torch, which, even with its non-traditional methodology, garnered a Best Blues Album of the Year nomination from the Chicago Music Awards.
Ronnie Baker Brooks plays Southgate House Thursday with Noah Wotherspoon. Go here to read Brian Baker's full Sound Advice.
