Louisiana Red
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Louisiana Red

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Hangin' with Red"

...It could have been Robert Nighthawk, or Muddy Waters, or even Robert Johnson. he performed material by all three, often in open tunings, often with slide guitar. He wailed, he howled, he groaned the blues.

The crowd knew they'd stumbled onto something very special...In one stretch Red switched tunings six times on the fly - playing in the same key, though...He seemed to play slide in every position - from guitar behind his head to upright to upside down...

The audiences at both clubs gave Red standing ovations. - Blues Access


"Millennium Blues"

If Forrest Gump had been a bluesman he might have been Louisiana Red. Not that Iverson Minter (d/b/a "Louisiana Red") is a simple man who prefers to ride the bus (he is, however, a traditional, simple licks guitarist who's shared many a bus ride touring). But for an artist to have crossed paths and stood on state with so many different musicial giants during his lifetime, there is that gumpish
"brush with greatness" that's compatible with Red's career. Whether it was running around in junior high with Stanley Turrentine, recording with Little Walter and Muddy waters, or playing alongside of Son House, Sunnyland Slim or the legendary Victoria Spivey, Red seems to have come in contact with most of music's hall of famers. Yet his own playing meant toiling nightly rather anonomously among the Chicago nighteries. [On this album] ... with some of the Windy City's most requested players, ... Red launches into a series of righteous talking blues, rich with tradition, and rife with Red's own lifelong perspective... For those purists who relish the real thing, Red's blues are as down-to-earth as the humus itself (his solo tracks here, backing himself with just a dobro, are astonishingly graphic), but swing like the best of Chicago's urban sound. And even Red himself would tell you that life is like a box of chocolates. - Focus Entertainment Magazine


"Jazz & Blues Report"

“…the blues don’t get any better than this.” - Jazz & Blues Report


"Living Blues"

“From stone Delta blues to Funk, this guitarist can play it all.” - Living Blues


"Chicago Reader"

“…few can match his fusion of musical precision and uncompromising honesty.” - Chicago Reader


"Blues Access"

“…the crowd knew they’d stumbled onto something really special.” - Blues Access


Discography

Louisiana Red
Discography (partial)

BLUES CLASSICS Bellaphon Records (Germany) Louisiana Red (solo and band) 1996
OVER MY HEAD Christy Records CR20003 Louisiana Red (solo) 1997

I HEAR THE TRAIN COMING Christy Records CR 20004 Louisiana Red (with band) 1997

ASHLAND AVENUE BLUES Christy Records CR 10006 Louisiana Red (with Chicago All Stars)

WALKED ALL NIGHT LONG The Blues Alliance TBA 13011-2 Louisiana Red/Lefty Dizz
DEAD STRAY DOG The Blues Alliance TBA 13002 Louisiana Red (solo)

SITTIN HERE WONDERIN Earwig CD 4932 Louisiana Red (solo)

THE RISING SUN COLLECTION Just a Memory RSCD 0006 Louisiana Red (live, club date)

THE BEST OF LOUISIANA RED Evidence ECD 26059-2 Louisiana Red (release)

BROTHERS IN BLUES CMA CM 10009 Louisiana Red/Carey Bell

THE LOWDOWN BACK PORCH BLUES Collectables COL CD 5419 Louisiana Red (release)

MILLENNIUM BLUES Earwig Music CD 4943 Louisiana Red (solo & with band) 1999 release

DRIFTIN’ Earwig Music CD 4947 Louisiana Red (solo & with band) 2001 release

A DIFFERENT SHADE OF RED Severn Records Inc. Louisiana Red (with band) 2002 release

NO TURN ON RED Hightone Records HMG1010 solo and band tracks 2005 release

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Louisiana Red biography - sound files at http://www.emusic.com/artist/10558/10558258.html

It’s long been said that you have to live the blues in order to play them. Whether you believe in this notion or not, it would be difficult to argue that anyone performing on the blues scene today has felt the blues more than Louisiana Red. Born Iverson Minter in Bessemer, Alabama on June 23, 1932, Red has overcome adversity at virtually every step of his life. His songs are powerful and passionate and reflect both his tragic childhood and life struggles.
His life sadly began with the death of his mother to pneumonia when Red was only seven days old. When he was five years old the KKK murdered his Father. At that point he was shuffled between family members where he was abused physically and psychologically. He also spent two years in an orphanage, where he suffered further abuse. His solace throughout these difficult times was music. Making his first instrument at age nine out of an old cigar box and rubber bands, he was encouraged greatly by his grandfather, a self-taught bottleneck guitarist who gave Red his first real guitar – an old Kay acoustic that he still has in his possession. While living in Pittsburgh he became a protégé of local legend Crit Walters, and even received encouragement from John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson, who gave Red a Hohner Old Standby harmonica.
At the age of sixteen, he lied about his age and joined the army, serving in Korea. After his honorable discharge, and a brief stint in New Jersey, he found himself in Chicago where he recorded a handful of tracks for the Checker label, a subsidiary of Chess Records, featuring Little Walter on harmonica and Muddy Waters assisting on guitar. This allowed him to hit the thriving Southside blues joints where he wound up playing with Jimmy Rogers, Otis Spann, and Baby Face Leroy, learning from them, and helping to develop their styles. Perhaps his greatest inspiration, however, came when he moved to Detroit and found himself playing with John Lee Hooker, the final piece of the puzzle that would make up Red’s style.
In recent years Red has found himself incredibly busy. Now residing in Hanover, Germany, Red spends a couple of months every year touring the United States. He also spends a great deal of time touring throughout Europe and other countries. He now has over a dozen albums under his belt, and still continues to record and write new material. He plays both traditional acoustic and urban electric styles, with lyrics both honest and often remarkably personal. He continues to connect with audiences throughout the world and, as he puts it, “Plays the blues… hard.”