Tommy Castro

Somewhere, there must be a teenage guitar novice who’s going to be inspired to play the blues after getting hooked on a Tommy Castro CD. That’s what happened to Castro after hearing B.B. King’s 1971 masterpiece, Live at Cook County Jail. Twenty-two years after that album’s release, the Tommy Castro Band began building its reputation as the West Coast’s answer to George Thorogood & The Destroyers with the issue of No Foolin’.

Castro’s most recent studio album, 2003’s Gratitude, celebrates his 10 years as a recording artist by paying tribute to the blues, soul, and R&B artists who have shaped his career. Castro covers 12 songs by John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, James Brown, Otis Redding & Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, Albert King, Wilson Pickett, and needless to say, B.B. King (“Bad Case of Love,” which, oddly enough, was not included on King’s Cook County Jail LP).

This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2004.