The “Golden Hits Of The 70s”
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ELVIN BISHOP
“FOOLED AROUND AND FELL IN LOVE”
(ELVIN BISHOP)
Capricorn 0252
No. 3 May 22, 1976
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“For 99 percent of the people,” blues guitarist Elvin Bishop explained to Guitar World’s Bill Milkowski, “if
1970s you don’t have a record, you’re not on the radio… you don’t exist. For some reason, I never felt
much pressure to make a record. I lead a pretty full life. Got a real nice home, nice wife, nice kid, ….”
As for the “Pigboy Crabshaw” persona often flogged by critics, Bishop told Relix’s Clark Peterson: “What’s
wrong with being a good old fella? I didn’t see a TV until I was 12. I was born and raised on a farm
outside Tulsa, and I’d seen a lot more chickens and pigs than people.”
Despite his hayseed image, Elvin (b. Oct. 21, 1942, Tulsa, OK) was a bright kid. It was while studying
physics at the University of Chicago on a National Merit Scholarship that he fell under the mesmerizing
sway of the blues. “There must’ve been 40 blues clubs that were just hoppin’ every night, all over the
South Side and the West Side,” Bishop recalled to Milkowski. “Needless to say, I got swept up by the
scene.”
Elvin hooked up with a young harmonica-player named Paul Butterfield. The two worked parties as a
duo, backing up blues greats like Magic Sam, Junior Wells, and Hound Dog Taylor. In 1965, Bishop and
Butterfield formed a blues band that became quite popular in Chicago. The Butterfield Blues Band,
featuring the lead-guitar work of Mike Bloomfield, succeeded in bringing the authentic blues (by white
kids, no less) to middle-class rock and folk fans. For three classic albums–The Paul Butterfield Blues
Band (1965), East-West (1966), and The Resurrection of Pig boy Crabshaw (1968)–the band purveyed
its unique brand of electric blues. When Bloomfield left after the second album, Bishop moved into the
lead-guitar chair.
In the late ’60s, Bishop left Butterfield, moved to the Bay area, and led his own group. A few LPs were
issued on the Epic, Fillmore, and Capricorn labels. Two singles–“Travelin’ Shoes” (#61, 1974) and “Sure
Feels Good” (#83, 1975)–as well as two albums–Let It Flow (1974) and Juke ]oint Jump (1975)–did well.
But it was not until 1976 that Bishop won the major portion of his audience. “Fooled Around and Fell in
Love,” featuring vocals by future Starship singer Mickey Thomas, sold beyond all expectations.
“I wrote that song four or five years earlier,” Bishop told Creem’s Tom Dupree, “and I never was able to
sing it well enough, and there was nobody singing in my group who could do it to my satisfaction until
Mickey tried it. It was just a throw-in on the last album. We needed a little bit more time filled.”
A few more singles and albums followed, but by 1980, Elvin was nowhere in sight. He resurfaced in 1989
with Big Fun on Alligator Records, assisted by DR. JOHN. Releases thereafter have been sporadic.