Often compared to War's Lee Oskar, Red began playing harmonica in his native Baton Rouge at the age of 15. By the time he was barely 20, he was touring as a featured part of the David Allan Coe Band. Red was also later to become a pivotal member of the late Clarence Edwards band, which garnered critical acclaim on several American and European tours with Albert King, Albert Collins and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Splitting time between the studio and the stage, Red has done serious time with some of the legitimate international heavyweights of the Blues and Rock world, including Gatemouth Brown, Jeff Foxworthy, Little Feat, The Nighthawks, Dr. John, The Meters, War, John Fred, Col. Bruce Hampton, The Radiators, Delbert McClinton, Zachary Richard, Louisiana's LeRoux, Los Lobos, Wet Willie, The Marshal Tucker Band, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Musselwhite, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Rockin' Doopsie Jr., Selwyn Cooper, Silas Hogan, Rockin' Tabby Thomas, Rudy Richard, Brooks Benton, GG Shin, Henry Gray, Joe Stamply, Oliver Morgan,Tommy Ridgley, and his present assignment with Big Al and the Heavyweights. To get his unique and extraordinary sound, Red has been known to stack harmonicas (he's been a Lee Oskar endorser since 1985!) on top of one another, "two or three at a time, sliding between them[to get] notes you can't make on a single diatonic[harmonica]... He's mastered every blow and draw, from slow, soulful wailing to lightening runs and jazzy chromatics(Wavelength)." Blues Revue says of Reds work on the latest Big Al and the Heavyweights CD, "Late Night Gumbo Party", "...exudes a tightly wound tension that's helped immensley by Harmonica Red's furious harp." But The Houston Post best described the "Red Sound" as "...a singular harp stylist, seamlessly blending his bluesy boiling wails inside a rockin'/jumpin'/shufflin'/gumbo."
Return to Bios page.