Curtis Salgado
Award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado, the man NPR calls “an icon” with “a huge voice,” has debuted a new video for his original song, “The Longer That I Live.” The soul-searching, instantly memorable, street-smart track was written by Salgado, David Duncan and Mike Finnigan, and will be featured on his upcoming album, Damage Control, set for release in early 2021. The song was originally released as a digital-only single in June 2020.
Soul, blues and R&B vocalist and world-class harmonica player, Salgado is famed not only for his powerhouse live shows and ten previous albums, but also for his passionate and insightful original songs. He has been nominated three times for the Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year, winning in 2018 for “Walk A Mile In My Blues” from his album The Beautiful Lowdown. In total, he has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. He has toured the world multiple times, playing clubs, concert halls and festivals.
Watch “The Longer That I live”
Salgado has always lived life to the fullest, but he’s also faced adversity, overcoming multiple health challenges. Both of these things inform The Longer That I Live. He battled back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012. In March 2017 he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He’s not only come back stronger each time, he’s become a prolific songwriter, going from writing a few songs per album to writing or co-writing full albums of original songs.
Born in Everett, WA, Curtis Salgado grew up in Eugene, OR. By his early 20’s, he was making a name for himself on the Eugene bar scene with his band The Nighthawks and later as the co-leader of The Robert Cray Band. Salgado quickly developed into a player and singer of remarkable depth. He has shared stages with with many of his heroes, including Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland, Albert Collins, and Bonnie Raitt. He fronted Roomful of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. With his own band, he released the first of ten solo albums in 1991.
“You can dance to them,” Salgado says of his songs, “but the words have to carry the weight.”
Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager present a virtual livestream event Saturday, December 12, 2020 7:30 PST. See here.
Curtis Salgado Online
Love this one!