artist info

“…good-time music guaranteed to put a smile on your face…serious playing, potent slide guitar and razor-sharp licks.” – The Chicago Tribune

“…Bishop’s muscular guitar provides the sets pulse, as his soulful slide ripples through R & B classics and rowdy blues alike.” – RELIX

“Rousing, down-home, feel-good music…spunky rhythms and razor-sharp slide…Bishop’s a superb guitarist of great strength and skill…a rockin’ good time. ” – Guitar World

Nominated 2015 “Male Blues Artist of the Year” and “Best Contemporary Blues Recording” for his latest release Can’t Even Do Wrong Right by Blues Blast Magazine Music Awards, many would say Bishop created a masterpiece of rollicking blues and R&B that’s a ‘must have’ for any blues guitar fan.

Although Bishop has been performing his rollicking brand of electrified front porch blues for over 50 years (his first professional gig was as guitarist for Junior Wells' band in 1962), he is as vital and creative an artist today as he was when he first hit the national scene in 1965 with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. He is still as slyly good-humored and instantly crowd-pleasing as he was when he was effortlessly creating solo hits during the 1970s. His reemergence on Alligator Records in the late 1980s and into the 1990s, along with his more recent releases on Blind Pig and Delta Groove, insure his place on the short list of bona fide blues guitar heroes. Elvin's music mixes thick blues grooves with timeless rock flavors spiced with a touch of country, a dab of Moms Mabley's and Pigmeat Markham's ribald black comedy, and the laid back feel of his Northern California home. His guitar playing seems to improve with every performance, and his songwriting is filled with clever revelations and homespun wisdom.

As Bishop continues to tour and release new music, his stature just continues to grow. Through the years his music has appeared in film and television, including the 1997 use of "She Puts Me In The Mood" (from Big Fun) in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown. In 2005 he performed on the internationally televised Grammy Awards broadcast alongside Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers' guitarist Dickey Betts. He recently appeared in the documentary Born In Chicago. In 2012 and 2013 he was nominated for inclusion into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.