Elvin Fooled Around And Had A Hit - The Latter Years

Bishop then made a crucial move in his career, when Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers Band persuaded Phil Walden to sign Bishop to the Capricorn label. Bishop released his first album under his own name with 1974’s ‘Let It Flow’ (US#100), which featured a more country-rock style, very Allman Brothers Band in sound, including the minor hit single ‘Travelin’ Shoes’ (US#61). 1975’s ‘Juke Joint Jump’ (US#46) saw Bishop continue with the country rock motif, with lots of slide guitar and honky tonk piano playing added to the mix. The single ‘Sure Feels Good’ (US#83) continued Bishop’s gradual cross over to mainstream commercial success.

But it would be his next album where Bishop would really hit stride as an artist in his own right. 1976’s ‘Struttin’ My Stuff’ (US#18/OZ#67) saw Bishop doing just that, but with a more middle of the road commercial slant to things. The lead out single was the cruisy R&B tune ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’, and though penned by Elvin Bishop, it was probably one of the least Elvin Bishop like songs he had written to date. The song’s vocals were handled by Mickey Thomas who would go on to join Jefferson Starship in 1978, later to become Starship from 1984, singing on their hits ‘Sara’ and ‘We Built This City’. Thomas’ vocals were a perfect fit for ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’, lyrically another slightly tongue in cheek effort from Bishop, the song peaking at #34 in Britain, #16 in Australia, and rocketing to #3 in the U.S. - by far and a way the biggest commercial hit of Bishop’s career, though the title track ‘Struttin’ My Stuff’ did climb to #68 in the U.S. Just a few months later Bishop released yet another album ‘Hometown Boy Makes Good!’ (US#70), the album’s title and cover a humorous reference to the recent boon in record sales for Bishop. Sadly, aside from another beautifully sung ballad from Mickey Thomas with ‘Spend Some Time’ (US#93 - this time credited to Elvin Bishop Ft. Mickey Thomas), the album was a bit of a spare parts affair, obviously hastily flung together in an attempt to further the momentum established by ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’.

Elvin Bishop’s career lost a considerable amount of that momentum in the remaining years of the 70s, to a degree washed over by the disco, punk and new waves to follow. His live album ‘Raisin’ Hell’ (US#38) in 1977 proved Bishop to still be a formidable stage presence, during this period with singer Mickey Thomas providing most of the vocals. By the time 1978’s ‘Hog Heaven’ was released, Mickey Thomas had left to take up duties with Jefferson Starship, leaving Bishop once again nervously holding the microphone. The result was a return to a more comfortable country blues boy persona for Bishop, though the mercurial voice of Maria Muldaur (‘Midnight At The Oasis’) lent magic to the track ‘True Love’. Following the demise of Capricorn Records and the release of a ‘best of’ collection in 1979, Elvin Bishop all bit disappeared from the music scene.

In 1988 Elvin Bishop made a comeback to the recording scene, signing a new deal with the Alligator label. The album ‘Big Fun’ (1988) was Bishop’s first U.S. release in nearly a decade (in 1981 Bishop had the album ‘Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby’ released in Germany only). In 1989 he made a guest appearance on the Allman Brothers Band album ‘Dreams’. 1991 saw the release of Bishop’s ‘Don’t Let The Bossman Get You Down!’, a mix of Bishop originals and blues standards - it was his most critically acclaimed album in years.

He toured with old pal B.B. King in 1995 and continued to perform and record at regular intervals over the next decade. 1998’s ‘The Skin I’m In’ was acknowledged as Bishop’s most mature album to date, highlighting a musician that was truly comfortable in his own stylistic skin. In 2000 Elvin Bishop reunited with the man who had helped kick start his career all those many years before. It had been forty years since Smokey Smothers took a young Elvin Bishop under his blues guitarist’s wing, and the live album ‘That’s My Partner!’ saw the long time blues compatriots return to their Chicago blues’ roots. Personal tragedy struck Bishop though later in 2000 when his daughter was murdered.

After a five year hiatus, Elvin Bishop once again bounced back with a vengeance on the 2005 album ‘Gettin’ My Groove Back’ (US#9 Top Blues Albums), as much an exercise in catharsis as a return to blues and country roots that form so much a part of Bishop’s musical tapestry. The rollicking good time live set ‘Booty Bumpin: Recorded Live’ proved an appropriate 30 year anniversary marker for Bishop since his commercial high point, proving he’d lost none of his verve and zest as a performer. His most recent studio album is 2008’s ‘Blues Rolls On’, which sees Bishop firmly reengaging with his love of the blues and country boogie. The album’s guest roster includes blues luminaries B.B. King, George Thorogood and James Cotton, and is as much a celebration of Bishop’s music career as anything.

The YouTube clip below features a 2004 performance by Mickey Thomas (the original vocalist) and Starship of the Elvin Bishop hit ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’:

Elvin Fooled Around And Had A Hit - The Early Years

I can recall hearing the song ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’ quite a lot when I was around 7 or 8 years old. The slow temp R&B number was a mainstay on commercial radio at the time, and it’s one of those songs that more than thirty years on sounds just as sweet.

The song was credited to one Elvin Bishop, though as I’ll explain later Bishop wasn’t the singer on ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’. That’s not to say that the man himself didn’t have a legitimate claim on being the artist behind the hit, having already established a career spanning more than a decade as a gifted blues guitarist and songwriter. Born in Glendale, California, Elvin Bishop grew up on an Iowa farm with no electricity or running water, before moving to Oklahoma at age 10. He listened to early blues artists on the radio, including an early fascination with harmonica player Jimmy Reed. He won a University scholarship in 1959, aged 17, and started playing guitar during his college years, soaking up the Chicago blues scene. His first steps on the guitar were under the tutelage of Howlin’ Wolf guitarist Smokey Smothers. It was whilst attending the University of Chicago (studying physics) that he would strike up another musical partnership that would change the course of his life. One of Bishop’s classmates was blues singer and harmonica player Paul Butterfield. The pair struck up a friendship and started jamming together at campus parties and the like.

Butterfield and Bishop honed their craft on the thriving Chicago blues circuit, jamming alongside the likes of South Side blues legends Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and Howlin’ Wolf. Butterfield often showed the initiative on these impromptu jams, but Bishop’s confidence was growing by the day and soon the duo were performing as an act in their own right under the names the Salt & Pepper Shakers and the South Side Olympic Blues Team, at legendary venues like Big John’s on Chicago’s North Side. Bishop was also cutting his teeth as a guitarist on Chicago’s folk circuit, taking the first tentative steps as a songwriter along the way. After dropping out of University Bishop moved to New York for a brief time, during which he worked at a department store where reportedly his job was to break toys (for manufacturer’s discounts - there’s something for the resume).

In 1963 Paul Butterfield formed the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, which in time would become the U.S. equivalent to John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, in terms of serving as an invaluable environment for up and coming blues players to fine tune their skills. The initial line-up featured two former players with Howlin’ Wolf’s band, in bassist Jerome Arnold and drummer Sam Lay, with Elvin Bishop (who’d chosen a life in music over professional toy breaking) invited to join on guitar. Over the next year or two the line-up expanded to a sextet, with the additions of rhythm guitarist Mark Naftalin and future guitar hero Mike Bloomfield. They signed to Elektra Records in 1965, releasing their eponymous debut album late in 1965. The opening track ‘Born In Chicago’ announced the arrival of a genuinely classy blues act, who would prove one of the key players in the American blues revival of the 1960s. They made a seminal appearance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where they not only played their own set but then backed folk legend Bob Dylan on his notoriously documented premiere electric performance (but hardcore Dylan traditionalists shouldn’t hold that against them).

In December 1966 they released the album ‘East - West’, broadening their sound to include jazz and Indian music into the mix. Soon after Mike Bloomfield left to form the psychedelic outfit Electric Flag, paving the way for Bishop to take over lead guitar duties for Butterfield. 1967 saw Billy Davenport step in for Sammy Lay on drums, and the addition of a full brass section, signalling the arrival of soul/R&B music into the mix for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After the release of the album ‘The Resurrection Of Pigboy Crabshaw’ (Pigboy Crabshaw was Bishop’s countrified alter-ego) in early 1968, Bishop decided the direction of the band no longer suited the path he wanted to follow.

Following Bishop’s departure from the band, Paul Butterfield led his Blues Band through until 1972 when they disbanded. Butterfield then put together a new outfit called Paul Butterfield’s Better Days who recorded several more albums through the 70s. Butterfield recorded his final album with 1986’s ‘The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again’, but he died in May, 1987.

Elvin Bishop welcomed his new found freedom as a solo artist post Butterfield Blues Band, forming his own backing band and settling in to playing regular gigs in and around Mill Valley, California. Among his backing musicians were a Boston folk trio Jo, Janice And Mary, with Jo Baker staying on for the long term. During this period Bishop also filled in for an ill Mike Bloomfield, jamming with blues impresario Al Kooper at the Fillmore, and playing on Kooper’s 1968 album ‘I Stand Alone’. This led to owner Bill Graham signing Elvin Bishop to a recording contract with Fillmore Records, with the debut album ‘The Elvin Bishop Group’ released in 1969. Bishop handled both vocals and guitar duties, but it was his work on the guitar that shone through. The album also featured an inkling of the cheeky good time humour that would be a trait in Bishop’s recorded and live work over the course of his career. Over the next few years he performed regularly on the same bill as blues legends like Eric Clapton and B.B. King.

He recorded one more album on the Fillmore label with 1970’s ‘Feel It!’, again credited to The Elvin Bishop Group, which focused more on a soul/R&B rock feel than straight blues-rock, with Jo Baker handling most of the lead vocal duties. Bishop then moved across to Epic and released ‘Rock My Soul’ in 1972, this time under the moniker of The Elvin Bishop Band, with Bishop himself handling more of the vocals. The album was produced by Delaney Bramlett of Delaney & Bonnie fame. The same year Bishop played slide guitar on John Lee Hooker’s album ‘Never Get Out Of The Blues Alive’.

Here’s Elvin doing what Elvin does best - making great music and having fun!