Blues-Rock Giant Tinsley Ellis Releases New Single “One Less Reason”

Photo: Tinsley Ellis by Elaine Thomas Campbell

Blues/rock guitarist, singer, songwriter Tinsley Ellis releases his new single “One Less Reason” from his upcoming album, Devil May Care out January 21 on Alligator Records. With Ellis’ trademark sizzling guitar riffs and expressive vocals, this killer Southern rock flavored blues track has great groove. What a way to break out the new year.

Ellis is in classic form on “One Less Reason” and displays the skill and style that has made him a contemporary legend. He works out his ample musical muscles over the song’s tough shuffle, lighting it up. Tinsley’s vocals are gruff and wise and his guitar playing slices and stings. Ellis’ new single is the kind of top-level track that he’s built his career upon and shows us all that he’s as mighty as ever.

Tinsley Ellis kicks off his 2022 Devil May Care Tour January 21 at City Winery, Atlanta, GA and continues through April 9, 2021. See tour schedule here.

A true blues/rock giant, Tinsley Ellis Tinsley is one of the most popular and hard-touring blues/rock guitarists in the world known for his emotional guitar and gritty, soulful vocals. “One Less Reason” is the first track off the 10-track Devil May Care, produced by Ellis and Kevin McKendree, recorded and mixed by McKendree at The Rock House, Franklin, TN.

Listen to “One Less Reason”

 
When the pandemic shutdown hit the world in March of 2020, Ellis was forced to cancel his 60-date tour to promote his then just-released album, Ice Cream In Hell, also on Alligator Records. Only six weeks into the tour, it was the first time Tinsley was off the road in 40 years. Dedicated to make the most of the pandemic downtime, he got back to his musical roots and created new songs composed on amps and guitars he hadn’t used in decades. He explored obscure studio and live recordings from some of his greatest musical heroes, such as the Allman Brothers, Freddie King, Michael Bloomfield, B.B. King and beyond, and was inspired by his favorite artists all over again. Eighteen months later, Ellis had written an astonishing 200 new songs.

Explains Ellis, “There was a lot of time to experiment. In my downstairs studio I set up every guitar and amp that I owned, plus a Leslie cabinet, an old wooden Wurlitzer electric piano, an old Maestro Echoplex tape delay and 30 or 40 glass, steel and brass slides. Experimenting with different gear set ups inspired the songwriting. Plus, I was able to listen to more music than I had since the 1970s. My imagination was fired up!”

Ellis paired down his massive 200 new songs to ten and enlisted friend/co-producer, keyboard master Kevin McKendree and headed for Franklin, Tennessee’s famous Rock House recording studio. What emerged was Ellis’ forthcoming album, Devil May Care, a record he says, “is for the fans as much as for me.”

Devil May Care, Ellis’ 20th album, contains ten of his most dynamic original compositions, mixing muscular rock ‘n’ roll and hard blues into his own instantly recognizable sound. Highlights include the Southern rock-tinged opening trio of songs—One Less Reason, Right Down The Drain and Just Like Rain—to the slow-burning Don’t Bury Our Love to the Hendrix-y Step Up and 28 Days. The emotionally-charged guitar solos soar in full service to the songs, as if Ellis is living and breathing the sound rather than simply playing the notes. “The goal,” says Ellis, “was to make the guitar sing.”

Born in Atlanta 1957 and raised in southern Florida, Tinsley Ellis acquired his first guitar at age seven, inspired by seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He took to guitar instantly, developing and sharpening his skills as he grew up. Like many kids his age, Ellis discovered the blues through the back door of British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream and The Rolling Stones as well as Southern rockers like the Allman Brothers. One night in 1972, he and a friend were listening to Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield’s Super Session record when his friend’s older brother told them that, if they liked Super Session, they should go see B.B. King, who was in town that week. Tinsley saw that show from the very front row. As fate would have it, King broke a guitar string while playing, and after changing it without missing a beat, he handed the broken string to young Tinsley. And yes, he still has that string.

Georgia Blue, Tinsley’s first Alligator release, hit the unprepared public by surprise in 1988. The Chicago Tribune said, “Tinsley Ellis torches with molten fretwork. Ellis takes classic, Southern blues-rock workouts and jolts them to new life with a torrid ax barrage.” His next four releases—1989’s Fanning The Flames, 1992’s Trouble Time, 1994’s Storm Warning, and 1997’s Fire It Up—further grew his reputation as well as his audience. (His song A Quitter Never Wins, a highlight of Storm Warning, was recorded by Jonny Lang, selling almost two million copies.) Features and reviews ran in Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and in many other national and regional publications.

Ellis has been a road warrior ever since his Alligator debut. He has captivated and amazed fans in all 50 United States, as well as in Canada, all across Europe, Australia and South America. He’s also earned the love and respect of many of his fellow musicians, including Warren Haynes, Oliver Wood, Jonny Lang, Buddy Guy, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic and more. Additionally, he’s shared stages with blues legends including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Leon Russell, Son Seals, Koko Taylor and Albert Collins. Mega-star guitarist Joe Bonamassa calls Ellis “a national treasure.” But no matter where or with whom he performs, Ellis always plays with grit, soul and unbridled passion.

Pre-order link for Devil May Care 

Tinsley Ellis website