Keb' Mo' facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo', with a Hamer guitar, at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, June 26, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Kevin Roosevelt Moore
Born	(1951-10-03) October 3, 1951 (age 73) South Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Delta blues, country blues, Americana
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, bass, keyboards
Years active	1970s–present
Labels	Chocolate City, Epic, Yolabelle International, Kind Of Blue Music, Concord/Rounder Records

Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter who lives in Nashville, Tennessee. People say he connects us to the old Delta blues music that traveled across America. His modern blues style mixes many types of music, like folk, rock, jazz, pop, and country. His nickname "Keb' Mo'" was given to him by his first drummer.

Biography

Early life and musical beginnings

Keb' Mo's parents were from Louisiana and Texas. They taught him to love blues and gospel music from a young age. By the time he was a teenager, he was already a very good guitarist.

He started his music career playing steel drums in a calypso band. In the 1970s and 1980s, he played in many blues and backup bands. He first recorded music in the early 1970s with Jefferson Airplane violinist Papa John Creach. Keb' Mo' was 21 when Creach hired him. He appeared on four of Creach's albums. He also helped write a song called "Git Fiddler" for Jefferson Starship's album Red Octopus. That album became number one on the Billboard 200 chart in 1975.

Keb' Mo' also wrote songs for A&M Records. His first album, Rainmaker, came out in 1980. He learned even more about the blues by playing with the Whodunit Band. He also played with famous blues musicians like Albert Collins and Big Joe Turner.

Becoming the Guitar Man

From 1990 to 1993, Keb' Mo' acted in a play called Spunk. He played a character called Guitar Man, who performed all the music in the play. This role helped shape his stage personality.

In 1994, Keb' Mo' released his self-titled album, Keb' Mo'. It included two classic songs by Robert Johnson. Keb' Mo' has said that Robert Johnson greatly influenced his music. This album was released by Okeh Records.

His second album, Just Like You, came out in 1996. It had 12 songs with strong Delta blues rhythms. He won his first Grammy Award for this album. Famous musicians Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt also appeared on it.

In 1997, Keb' Mo' performed on the TV show Sessions at West 54th. He played 14 songs with his band, and blues pianist Dr. John joined him. This performance was later released as a DVD.

His album Slow Down was released in 1998. It won him a second Grammy Award. The album starts with "Muddy Water," a song honoring Muddy Waters.

New sounds and collaborations

In 2000, Keb' Mo' released The Door. The same year, he released Big Wide Grin, which was a children's album. It had songs from his own childhood and new songs he wrote. In 2001, he appeared on Sesame Street with Kermit the Frog and other muppets. They sang "Everybody Be Yo'self." He also performed "America the Beautiful" on the TV show The West Wing in 2006.

In 2003, Keb' Mo' worked with filmmaker Martin Scorsese on a series of films called The Blues. Keb' Mo' also released an album as part of this series.

He won his third Grammy Award in 2004 for his album Keep It Simple. Later that year, he released Peace... Back by Popular Demand. His album Suitcase came out in 2006.

In 2009, Keb' Mo' released a live album called Live and Mo'. He performed at the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival with many other guitarists. His album The Reflection was released in 2011.

Keb' Mo' performed at the White House in 2012 for an event called "Red, White and Blues." He also paid tribute to blues legend Hubert Sumlin at a concert in New York City.

In 2014, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards for his album BLUESAmericana. This album later won the 'Contemporary Blues Album' award at the Blues Music Awards in 2015.

He supports a charity called Playing For Change, which uses music to connect people around the world. He has appeared in videos and on albums for the charity. In late 2015, he performed at another special concert at the White House, hosted by Barack Obama.

In 2017, Keb' Mo' teamed up with Taj Mahal to release a joint album called TajMo. This album won the 2018 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

His studio album Oklahoma was released in June 2019. It featured other artists like Rosanne Cash and his wife, Robbie Brooks Moore. He won the Grammy Award for "Best Americana Album" for Oklahoma in 2020.

Film and TV projects

In 1998, Keb' Mo' played the role of Robert Johnson in a documentary film.

He also appeared in the TV series Touched by an Angel several times, playing the character Isaac, the Angel of Music. He performed songs from his albums on the show. In 2001, he appeared in an episode as J. D. Winslow.

The 2003 movie Holes used a new version of his song Just Like You.

In 2007, he played a character named Possum in the movie Honeydripper. Keb' Mo' also helped create music for the TV shows Mike and Molly and B Positive.

Working for change

In 2004, Keb' Mo' joined the Vote for Change tour with Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne. This tour was about encouraging people to vote.

Keb' Mo' is also part of the No Nukes group, which works against the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007, this group made a music video for a new version of the song "For What It's Worth".

Musical instruments

Keb' Mo' uses different kinds of guitars, including electric, acoustic, and resonator guitars. He really likes red guitars. He often plays a red custom Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. On stage, he prefers a red Hamer guitar. Sadly, two of his electric guitars were lost in the 2010 Nashville flood.

He also owns many acoustic and resonator guitars. These include a Gibson artist model and a special guitar made for him by James Goodall.

DVDs

• Sessions at West 54th – Recorded Live in New York (1997)
• Exploring the Guitar with Keb' Mo' (2000)
• The Blues Guitar of Keb' Mo'' (2002)
• Keb' Mo' & Guests (2011)

Other musical projects

In 1998, Keb' Mo' was on an album called Begegnungen by German rock star Peter Maffay. They sang a new version of Keb' Mo's song "Am I Wrong" together.

In 2001, he sang "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" on a tribute album for Hank Williams. He also helped produce a Grammy-winning country album that year.

In 2002, he contributed to an album called When Love Speaks, where actors and musicians read Shakespearean poems. In 2004, he sang a duet with Amy Grant called "Come Be with Me."

He appeared on Buddy Guy's song "Ain't No Sunshine" in 2005. He also helped write one of the theme songs for the show Martha Stewart Living. That same year, he was on Eric Clapton's album Back Home.

In 2006, Keb' Mo' helped write the song "I Hope" for the Dixie Chicks' album. He also worked with the New Orleans blues group The Subdudes, producing their album Behind the Levee. He appeared on the final episode of The West Wing in 2006.

He sang on Marcus Miller's albums Free (2007) and Marcus (2008). In 2008, he also played banjo and sang on Otis Taylor's album Recapturing the Banjo.

In 2011, Keb' Mo' produced and helped write a song for the David Bromberg album Use Me. In 2013, he sang a duet with B.J. Thomas on the song "Most of All".

In 2017, he sang "Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good" for a tribute album to Don Williams. He also appeared in the Hallmark movie series "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" as a character named Gabe, performing several songs.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Images for kids

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  Keb' Mo' performing with Dan Aykroyd at the 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival.

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  Keb' Mo' performs in 2020.

See also

In Spanish: Keb' Mo' para niños