Ronnie Earl

Ronnie Earl (born Ronald Horvath, March 10, 1953, Queens, New York, United States)[1] is an American blues guitarist and music instructor.

This article refers to the musician. For the district attorney of Travis County, Texas, see Ronnie Earle.
Ronnie Earl
Earl playing the 1996 Riverwalk Blues Festival
Background information
Birth nameRonald Horvath
Born (1953-03-10) March 10, 1953
Queens, New York, United States
GenresBlues, rhythm and blues, jazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1979–present
LabelsBlack Top, Telarc, Rounder, Stony Plain, Verve, Sledgehammer Blues/AudioQuest Music, Antone's
Associated actsRoomful of Blues, Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters
Websitewww.ronnieearl.com

Career

Earl collected blues, jazz, rock and soul records while growing up. He studied American History at C.W. Post College on Long Island for a year and a half, then moved to Boston to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education and Education at Boston University where he would graduate in 1975.[2] He spent a short time teaching handicapped children. During his college years, he attended a Muddy Waters concert at the Jazz Workshop in Boston. After seeing Waters perform, Earl took a serious interest in the guitar, which he had first picked up in 1973. His first job was as a rhythm guitarist at The Speakeasy,[3] a blues club in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to playing in the Boston blues scene, Earl traveled twice by Greyhound Bus to Chicago, where he was introduced to the Chicago blues scene by Koko Taylor.

Later he traveled to New Orleans and Austin, Texas, where he spent time with Kim Wilson, Jimmie Vaughan and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. In 1979 he joined the band Roomful of Blues as lead guitarist.

He began performing solo in 1986, in addition to playing with Roomful of Blues, and he released his first solo album on the Black Top Records label with a quartet that focused on blues instrumentals. After leaving Roomful of Blues, he began collaborations with contemporaries Ron Levy and Jerry Portnoy, Earl King, Jimmy Rogers, and Jimmy Witherspoon.

In 1984, Earl formed his own band which he called The Broadcasters. The band was named after one of the first Fender guitars, distributed in 1950, which originally had been labeled The Broadcaster. The first group of Broadcasters included Darrell Nulisch (vocalist), Jerry Portnoy (harmonica), Steve Gomes (bass), and Per Hanson (drums). In 1988 they released their first album, Soul Searchin, followed by Peace of Mind in 1990. Their album Language of the Soul was released in 1994. The lineup for the Broadcasters for that album was Bruce Katz (keyboards), Per Hanson (drums) and "Rocket" Rod Carey (bass). The next album The Colour of Love, featured Marc Quinones (percussion) and Gregg Allman (keyboards). The latter association led to Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters' opening for the Allman Brothers Band at Great Woods, and to Warren Haynes (guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band) sitting in with Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters at Johnnie D's in Somerville. Later, Katz joined the Gregg Allman Band.

In 2000, Earl was diagnosed with several medical ailments,[4] and scaled back his touring, and also re-evaluated his career plans. In 2002 Ronnie gathered together a new group of Broadcasters and began a productive and creative partnership with Stony Plain Records of Edmonton Alberta Canada. The new Broadcasters were Jim Mouradian (bass), Dave Limina (piano, Hammond B3), and Lorne Entress (drums). In 2014 Diane Blue(vocals) joined the band as a full time Broadcaster and became the first female Broadcaster in the band’s history. In August 2016 Lorne Entress left to work on other projects and in January 2017 Jim Mouradian died suddenly after a show.[5] The current group of Broadcasters (2018) now include Dave Limina (piano, Hammond B3), Diane Blue (vocals), Forrest Padgett (drums), Paul Kochanski (bass). In 2017, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters released The Luckiest Man, Ronnie's eleventh release from Stony Plain Records.[6] In October 2018, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters will celebrate thirty years as a band.

Earl is a four-time (1997,1999, 2014, 2018) Blues Music Award winner as Guitar Player of the Year.[7] For five years he was an Associate Professor of Guitar at Berklee College of Music and, in 1995, he released Ronnie Earl: Blues Guitar with Soul, an instructional VHS tape that was then re-released in DVD format in 2005. Earl was also the blues instructor at the 'National Guitar Summer Workshop'.

In early 2004, Earl's "Hey Jose" was named Best Blues/R&B Song at the third annual Independent Music Awards.[8]

Discography

[9]

Roomful of Blues

1979-1988

Studio albums
  • 1983 Smoking
  • 1984 They Call Me Mr. Earl
  • 1986 I Like It When It Rains
  • 1988 Soul Searching
  • 1990 Peace of Mind
  • 1991 Surrounded by Love
  • 1993 Still River
  • 1994 Language of the Soul
  • 1996 Eye to Eye
  • 1996 Grateful Heart: Blues and Ballads
  • 1997 The Colour of Love
  • 2000 Healing Time
  • 2001 & Friends
  • 2003 I Feel Like Goin' On
  • 2004 Now My Soul
  • 2005 The Duke Meets the Earl
  • 2009 Living in the Light
  • 2010 Spread the Love
  • 2014 Good News
  • 2015 Father's Day
  • 2016 Maxwell Street
  • 2017 The Luckiest Man
  • 2019 Beyond The Blue Door[10]
  • 2020 Rise Up

Live albums
  • 1995 Blues Guitar Virtuoso – Live in Europe (also Blues and Forgiveness is the same album)
  • 2007 Hope Radio
  • 2013 Just for Today

Compilations
  • 1985 Deep Blues
  • 1992 Test of Time: A Retrospective
  • 1997 Plays Big Blues
  • 2006 Heart and Soul: The Best of Ronnie Earl

Guest appearances

Ronnie Earl has appeared as a guest on over 40 albums and projects. [11] I've Got Something To Tell You" - Blues and Old-time Fiddle with Ilana Katz Katz and friends, 2014

With Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson

DVD
  • 2001 Blues Guitar with Soul
  • 2008 Hope Radio Sessions

See also

References
  1. Huey, Steve (1953-03-10). "Ronnie Earl". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  2. "Ronnie Earl's official website". Ronnieearl.com. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  3. "The Blues Audience Speakeasy article". Bluesaudience.com. 2004-03-07. Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  4. "Ronnie Earl Interview by Brian D. Holland". Ronnieearl.com. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  5. "Jim Mouradian, a virtuoso of guitar repair, dies at 66 - The Boston Globe". Bostonglobe.com. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  6. "Canada's Roots, Rock, Country, Folk & Blues Label". Stony Plain Records. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  7. "BLUES MUSIC AWARDS - Blues Foundation". Blues.org. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  8. "Independent Music Awards - 3rd Annual Winners". Musiciansatlas.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  9. "Discography". Ronnieearl.com. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  10. "Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters Go 'Beyond The Blue Door'". americanbluesscene.com. 2019-08-31. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  11. "Guest Appearances". Ronnieearl.com. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
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