Freddie Cunningham and the Root Doctor Band
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Freddie Cunningham and the Root Doctor Band

Lansing, Michigan, United States | SELF

Lansing, Michigan, United States | SELF
Band Blues R&B

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Been A Long Time Coming CD review"

Been A Long Time Coming

Lansing, Michigan-based Root Doctor recently made an excellent showing on the Living Blues radio charts with this record, and deservedly so: Been A Long Time Coming is a beautifully executed project, from the performances to the repertoire and production. Balancing traditional blues with soul and even prewar country blues material (Greg Nagy's John Hammond–inspired reading of Willie Brown's Mississippi Blues), Root Doctor emerges here as the consummate working band, worthy of any festival or club audiences' attention.

Freddie Cunningham is an authoritative blues singer whose voice wavers and perforates like a hard-nosed version of Bobby Bland. This is delightfully apparent during straight soul numbers like the Brook Benton hit Rainy Night In Georgia and a powerhouse read-through of Leo Graham's Turning Point, a strong composition made popular in 1975 by Tyrone Davis. On the latter track, as with most of the R&B material, the Sofa King Horns form a brass stronghold as robust as any performing traditional soul today.

Memorable original songs bookend the album, and the first two tracks are at once instrumentally savvy and lyrically inventive. Me And My Wife shuffles through a blues that celebrates marriage (rather than being heartbroken by it), and Michigan Roads cites new and unlikely blues highways over sly funk.
EH, Living Blues Magazine, June/July 2006
- EH, Living Blues Magazine


"Change Our Ways: CD review"

Change Our Ways

This blues-soul-funk quintet from Lansing, Mich., holds one's attention. Delta-born and raised Freddie Cunningham has texture and depth to his singing voice, and the other players (plus guests, like the Motor City Horns) exhibit a smooth, passionate resolve. The cause is further served by six built-to-last songs from keyboardist Jim Alfredson and makeovers of the Temptations' "I Wish It Would Rain" (quietly dignified with cello and violin) and Warren Haynes' "Soul Shine" (uplifted with background vocals fit for Sunday morning worship and a fine Greg Nagy guitar solo). 3 1/2 stars

Frank-John Hadley
Downbeat April 2008
- Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat Magazine


"Live at the Cadillac Club CD Review"

Live At The Cadillac Club

Root Doctor may be one of Michigan's best-kept musical secrets. The Lansing-based five piece has been making hips shake for years, but as evidenced in recent work like 2007's Blues Music Award-nominated Change Our Ways, the band's ready to let the cat out of the bag.

Root Doctor's latest, Live at the Cadillac Club, is all you could want from a live blues/roots collection. From start to finish, the sound is raw and direct, and it has that danceability factor that makes blues festivals so much fun.

The disc's lead track, "Hip Hug Her," is a fine example of what Root Doctor can do live. A six-minute instrumental all about funky groove, it's equal parts Booker T. & the MG's organ bliss and Robert Cray-like Stratocaster smoothness-what a great way to kick off the party. The disc segues from there to the high-energy boogie of "Walkin' Out On You," to the Memphis Soul of "Love Bones" and the slow-burn blues of "It's Too Late to Try to Do Right."

Live at the Cadillac Club features two fantastic covers: the late night feel of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and a muscle-flexing rendition of "Reconsider Baby," complete with band solo spots-a scorcher for sure. Closing the disc is the climactic rave-up of "The Turning Point," completed with the Motor City Horns in tow. By the end of the set, you're fully aware that Root Doctor doesn't quit.

So often, live albums are more of a side note to a band's catalog. In Root Doctor's case, you could actually start with this album to acquaint yourself with the band. I'd hate to say that the band is at the peak of its powers here, but it sure is hard to imagine them squeezing out one extra drop of power, passion or rockin' soul.
Mark Uricheck
Elmore Magazine
Jan/Feb 09
- Mark Uricheck, Elmore Magazine


Discography

Been A Long Time Coming (2006)
Played on over 400 stations world-wide, "Been A Long Time Coming" stayed in the Top 25 on the national Living Blues charts for three months straight! Won the 2006 WYCE Jammie Award for Best Blues Album and was nominated for a 2006 Detroit Music Award and a 2006 International Blues Competition award.

Change Our Ways (2007)
Debuted at number 13 on the Living Blues charts and received glowing reviews from the press. Nominated for a 2007 BMA (Blues Music Award) for Soul Blues Album of the Year!

Root Doctor-Live at the Cadillac Club (2008)

Single: It's Cold Outside (2010)
--featuring Jen Sygit
Currently working on a new album-Spring 2011

Photos

Bio

Root Doctor, a 2007 Blues Music Awards nominee, has entertained the Midwestern club-circuit for nearly two decades with memorable, high-energy live shows. A sensation wherever they perform, Root Doctor's sound has spread around the scene as they have finally become an internationally acclaimed Soul and Blues band.