Son Lewis

Son Lewis (born December 11, 1951 in Paterson, New Jersey) is a blues singer and guitarist. His given name is Andrew, but he was nicknamed "Son" or "Sonny" by his family to differentiate him from his father, Andrew Lewis Sr.

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Background

He is the son of former soldier and businessman Andrew Lewis Sr. and his wife, Frances Frano. He has one sister, Michele.

Career

Although not coming from a musical family, he was heavily influenced by his cousin Carl Lewis, who exposed him to Delta and Chicago Blues music at a very young age. Inspired by the spontaneity and emotion of Blues music, Lewis started playing guitar in 1964, studying under R&B guitarist Dennis Gorgas and later with Danny Kalb, founder and leader of The Blues Project, a pioneering New York-based Blues band who recorded several LPs for Verve Records/MGM in the mid to late-1960s. By late 1968, Lewis had begun visiting the Folk and Blues clubs of New York's Greenwich Village and after witnessing a live performance by John P. Hammond at "Gerde's Folk City", he was determined to begin performing. In early 1969, Lewis became a regular fixture at "Open Mics" and "Hootenanys" in and around the New York–New Jersey area, singing and playing acoustic solo Blues guitar in the Delta and Piedmont styles. These performances resulted in several paid gigs as an opening or support act at The Coffeehouse at Fairleigh Dickenson University in New Jersey. During that period, Lewis opened shows for The Manhattan Transfer (when they were a folk group), comedian Chris Rush, Melissa Manchester, J.F. Murphy and Free Flowing Salt and others.

In 1974, Lewis incorporated electric guitar into his repertoire and shortly thereafter formed The Son Lewis Blues Band, which has featured members of Mink DeVille, Exuma, Rockett 88, Impact and The Ricki Lee Jones Band.

Since 1979, he has recorded over eight albums, primarily for NJ's Silk City Records and has appeared on numerous compilation recordings. In 1996, he was selected by The Skyland Blues Society to represent Northern NJ in the "International Blues Competition", held by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee. He has also appeared on a number of local NJ–NY television shows and has over 25 live radio broadcasts to his credit.

Songwriter

Long considered "an interpreter", Lewis originally wrote ballads in the late 1960s but refused to perform them in his live performances. He began writing Blues and Roots-based songs again in 2001 and now focuses extensively on original material for his recorded works. His CD Cadillac Rhythm, released in 2008, featured all original songs written by Lewis or co-written with keyboardist John Pittas.

Discography

Cadillac Rhythm (Silk City 2008)

Dark Past (Silk City 2007)

Urban Legends of NJ (Silk City 2006)

Snake (Silk City 2005)

The Country Blues (Silk City 2004)

Red, Hot, Blues (Silk City 2004)

Santa Has Left The Building (Silk City 2003)

Hobo Jungle: Independent Blues Artists (Silk City 2000)

Standing Room Only: Songs from the Last Roadhouse (Silk City 1999)

Borderline: The Ry Cooder Tribute (Hattori/Japan 1998) out of print

Next Train Smokin' (Silk City 1996)

Roadwork (Silk City 1991), out of print

Glad You Came (Silk City 1988), out of print

Solid Son (Silk City 1980), out of print

Live Radio, Son! (Bluesong 1974), out of print

External links

• Official website
• Silk City Records Official Web Site