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Legendary Blues Guitarist Elvin Bishop Returns to Tulsa

The nonprofit Will Rogers Stage Foundation welcomes rocking blues legend and five-time hall of fame inductee Elvin Bishop back to his alma mater, Will Rogers High School, a member of the class of 1960. He will perform in the historic Will Rogers Auditorium, 3909 East 5th Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for one performance only, Sunday, November 24, 2024, at 2:30pm. Doors to the building open an hour before the concert, at 1:30 p.m. The auditorium doors open at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.WillRogersStage.com. All seats are reserved.


Although Elvin has performed at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa as recently as last year, he believes this could be his first time to return to Will Rogers High School in the 64 years since his graduation. He might have stopped by the school during his 20th anniversary class reunion events but isn’t sure. He’s looking forward to his return.


He was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 1998, Will Rogers High School Hall of Fame in 2012, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, Blues Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016, and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2018.


Born in Glendale, California, on October 21, 1942, while his father was stationed on the West Coast during World War II, Bishop grew up on a farm in Iowa before relocating to Oklahoma when he was 10. Bishop said in a 2022 Tulsa World interview with Jimmie Tramel, “they had a big drought in Oklahoma, and my dad brought a truckload of hay down to sell and he got a job at Douglas Aircraft at the same time, so we moved down there. It was cool. I liked Tulsa.”


Asked by Tramel if he was a good boy in school, Bishop replied: “As I remember, there were kind of like three factions in the high school. There was what we call the smoke-holers. There was this area called the ‘smoke hole,’ where ── this is how long ago it was ── students who liked to smoke would go hang out there, and they were pretty much kind of wrong-doers and stuff. And then there was the jocks — straight arrow or athletic guys. And then there were the more academic-oriented people. I kind of didn’t fit into any of those categories completely.” He says he wasn’t a good student, but he scored well enough on a standardized test to be awarded a National Merit Scholarship to a university of his choosing.


Another Will Rogers student, Susan Eloise (S.E.) Hinton, class of 1966, described the local ‘caste’ system a little differently, a few years later as a junior, for her creative writing assignment, about two classes of students: The Socials, abbreviated “Socs”— “who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next” ── and “Greasers” ── “[who] steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while.” She published her story in 1967, after graduation, as “The Outsiders,” which has become a youth genre classic, required reading for middle-schoolers in many districts across the country. It has been made into a full-length play, adapted by Christopher Sergel in 1990 from Hinton’s book. It was made into a movie filmed in Tulsa by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983, and a Broadway musical featuring a book by Adam Rapp with Justin Levine, and music and lyrics by Jamestown Revival, that won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Musical, among other honors. Bishop wouldn’t have fit into one of those groups, either.  


He was not musically inclined in high school but got interested in playing guitar when he noticed that girls would gather around the guitar players during school dances. That could have been Will Rogers upperclassmen David Gates, class of 1958, who later became famous as leader of the musical group Bread, or maybe pianist Russell Bridges, class of 1959, later to become famous as Leon Russell, who occasionally would pick up his guitar as a member of Gates’ combo, The Accents. So, in an effort to meet girls, Elvin bought a used guitar at a pawn shop and began learning to play it, but never well enough, he says, to perform in front of people, at least not while still in high school. That came later ── big time!


He first got hooked on the blues listening to late night R&B radio as a teenager, and began collecting, listening to and absorbing blues music. Once Bishop realized that many of his favorite records were recorded in Chicago, he used his 1959 National Merit Scholarship as a way to get closer to his blues heroes by enrolling in the University of Chicago, whose campus was located near dozens of the South Side clubs.


After Elvin crossed paths with harmonica player and fellow University of Chicago student Paul Butterfield, the two began sitting in together at South Side clubs, often jamming with Buddy Guy and Otis Rush. They first formed The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1963, adding Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums and later Mark Naftalin on keyboards. Prior to cutting their debut LP in 1965, Michael Bloomfield joined the group as second lead guitarist, creating a groundbreaking, all-star band.


The self-titled The Paul Butterfield Blues Band introduced electric Chicago blues to the rock audience for the first time. With the release of “East/West” in 1966, the band’s popularity hit an all-time high. Their straight Chicago blues sounds drifted further into progressive and experimental rock ‘n’ roll and — with two world-class lead guitarists on board — the band helped pave the way for groups featuring multiple virtuoso guitarists, like The Allman Brothers Band and Derek and the Dominos. The band, including Bishop, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.


Towards the end of the 1960s, after recording three albums with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elvin decided to move on, heading for the San Francisco area. He became a regular at the famed Fillmore Auditorium jam sessions, playing alongside Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King and many others before embarking on a solo career. He recorded first for Fillmore Records, then Epic and then for Capricorn, where his career took off. He charted with Travelin’ Shoes before scoring big in 1975 with “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” The song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in 1976 and was prominently featured in the blockbuster film, Guardians of the Galaxy.


After a seven-year recording hiatus, Elvin returned to his blues roots in 1988, signing with Alligator and releasing five albums between 1988 and 2000. After a few releases on other labels, Bishop returned to Alligator with 2014’s “Can’t Even Do Wrong Right,” and once again turned the music-loving world on its head. Reviews poured in from NPR’s Fresh Air, Rolling Stone, Living Blues, No Depression and many others. He appeared on TBS Television’s CONAN and performed numerous times on A Prairie Home Companion, most recently with The Big Fun Trio.


Ever since Elvin first hit the scene with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band back in 1965, he’s blazed his own musical trail. Whether he was playing raw, eye-popping blues, or penning the evergreen radio hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” or touring the world for decades delivering his original, good-time countrified blues, Bishop has always inspired his fans with his rowdy guitar playing and witty, slice-of-life songs.


Late in 2015, Bishop formed The Big Fun Trio, with Bishop on guitar and vocals, and his friends Bob Welsh on piano and guitar and Willy Jordan on cajón (a hand-played Peruvian drumbox) and vocals. After playing just a handful of live dates, the group’s instantly crowd-pleasing music and undeniable chemistry took the blues world by storm. With the release of their self-titled CD in 2017, media and fan response was immediate and overwhelming. DownBeat celebrated Bishop’s “verbal hijinks, outstanding guitar work and country boy friendliness.” OffBeat said The Big Fun Trio was “intricate, funky and uplifting,” declaring them, “consistently great.” With its top-shelf musicianship and front-porch vibe, the album earned a Grammy Award nomination and won Blues Music Awards for Album of The Year and Song of The Year (for the title track) from The Blues Foundation.


The Big Fun Trio quickly discovered the more they played live, the more fun they had making music together. So, a follow-up recording was an easy decision. The new album, “Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here,” finds the group fearlessly laying it all on the line. According to Elvin, “With a trio there’s no place to hide ­— you’ve got to be pourin’ everything you got right out front. You need to be totally into it all the time. It’s really cool to see how people react to the goin’-for-it feel of the music.”


The album mixes rousing, new originals, reinventions of three Bishop classics and some unexpected, soul-shaking covers.” Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here” was produced by Bishop and Steve Savage and recorded at Bishop’s Hog Heaven Studio in Lagunitas, California. Bishop wrote or co-wrote five songs (including two by the entire trio). The potent title track—a tongue-in-cheek “State of The Union” address as only Elvin can deliver— kicks the album off with Bishop aiming his lyrical truths at those in power. The humorous but piercingly direct lyrics take aim at the current political scene while Bishop’s deep blues guitar playing drives the point home.


“Lookin’ Good” finds Bishop autobiographically gazing in the rearview mirror with sharp, wry lyrics accompanied by Welsh’s perfect blues piano. Willy Jordan sings lead on four songs, including blistering reinventions of Jackie Wilson’s “Higher and Higher” and Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain.” Bob Welsh, whose guitar or piano playing highlights every song, pounds the ivories on his own “Bob’s Boogie.” “This album fell together easily,” says Bishop. “Everything I visualized about the songs — from Bob’s playing to Willy’s singing — came true. Bob and Willy are great musicians.”


According to San Francisco Bay native Jordan, who has decades of experience playing drums with artists including John Lee Hooker, Joe Louis Walker and Angela Strehli, playing in the Big Fun Trio is “crazy different. It’s rootsy but also new. We all stayed simple to stay strong.” Welsh, originally from Covington, Louisiana, has performed and toured with Bishop, Rusty Zinn, Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton and others. Welsh says he too loves playing in the Trio. “Playing this music is fun and fresh and new to us. It keeps us on our toes. We’re always surprising each other. We have to be fearless.”


With “Something Smells Funky ‘Round Here,” Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio are clearly having a very good time. Having spent almost three years performing, these three tremendously talented musicians continue to inspire each other to new heights. As Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio take their music back on the road, fans will once again have a chance to experience the big fun firsthand. According to Living Blues, “Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio has wonderful chemistry and are a joy to hear.”


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 also appeared in the documentary “Born in Chicago.”


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.


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“Deceptively loose but always tight…the raspy chuckle in Bishop's singing and the sharp sting of his guitar are forceful and fresh, enduring and fun.” — Fresh Air, NPR


“...a legendary guitarist" whose playing is "impeccable and spirited...a distinguished American player.” — Rolling Stone


“...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

For more on Elvin Bishop, check his website at https://www.elvinbishopmusic.com/.

The entire concert will be recorded in multiple camera 4K (ultra-high definition), multiple track digital audio, by a professional crew for distribution nationwide to PBS affiliate television stations and networks.

ALL SEATS RESERVED.  TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLY ON-LINE.  MUST HAVE TICKET TO ENTER.

Attendees are advised that face masks are not required, unless mandated by civil authority, but are strongly encouraged for the safety of others. Nor will social distancing, proof of COVID vaccine or recent negative COVID test results be required. Attendees hereby acknowledge the dangers from the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne sickness and assume the risks of entering this venue for this performance.

Text and layout by Dick Risk. Social media by Robert Risk and Yapsody. Contents copyright © 2024 Will Rogers Stage Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Will Rogers Stage Foundation, Inc., is organized under the provisions of the Oklahoma General Corporation Act and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, as set forth in its articles of incorporation and within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The foundation is also organized pursuant to 70 O.S. § 5-145, which encourages the formation of “local foundations” as supplements to basic school district programs publicly funded. The foundation is registered with the Oklahoma Secretary of State pursuant to the Oklahoma Solicitation of Charitable Contributions Act, Title 18, Section 552.1a of the Oklahoma Statutes.

Corporate address: 2840 East 51st Street, Suite 205, Tulsa, OK 74105

Richard B. Risk, JD, President

Robert A. Risk, Vice President

James R. Adelman, EA, Secretary-Treasurer