You’d think that after putting out a string of 30 amazing albums, Bob Corritore would be running out of steam. After all, he’s been perfecting his harp work, producing a slew of great material, and preaching blues history ever since he heard Muddy in the late sixties. But no, Corritore’s still going strong in Arizona and beyond. He’s got the Rhythm Room to run, a weekly radio show to do, countless artists to collaborate with and the list goes on.
With so much on his plate, it’s crazy to think how this harmonica ace keeps everything humming. But Corritore makes it all happen. Why? Because despite the desert address, he’s still a born and bred Chicagoan. A stand-up guy who would do anything for his friends and not expect a payback. Like Jake and Elwood, Corritore’s on a non-stop mission of boosting blues awareness by putting out records that perfectly capture the magic that happens when he and his friends get together.
These records also happen to do a huge service for blues fans by capturing moments in time that could be lost forever if they’re not documented. As Corritore observed in a recent phone conversation, “So many people that I recorded with are not around anymore and it’s kind of impossible to really make that sound without them.”
Corritore is also big on educating the public on blues history. His social media feed is chock full of cool old photos, vintage ads, amusing anecdotes and amazing facts gleaned from his interactions with so many legends. He’s got a ton of blues connections and he’s always ready to sing their praises on his Facebook feed. He summed it up when he said, “it’s hard to understand the character of the blues, without knowing some of the characters of the blues.”
It seems like Corritore’s been destined to spread the word on the music that he considers “sacred.” He was born in Chicago during the golden age of the blues and raised in suburban Wilmette. At the age of 12, after hearing Muddy on the radio, he was transfixed and started digging deep to soak up more knowledge. He bought blues records, listened to the WNUR blues radio show, hung out at Maxwell Street and devoted himself to learning how to play Chicago-style blues on harmonica. Corritore attended New Trier High School where he saw Muddy, Sam Lay, and other blues artists play.
Although Corritore was getting schooled in the blues, his parents expected him to go to college. So, he packed up and headed down to the University of Tulsa. In a foreshadowing of future multi-tasking skills, Corritore managed to pick up a business degree while moonlighting by blowing harp into the wee hours of the night, where his Chicago-blues style was in demand.
When asked why this dyed-in-the-wool Chicagoan went to school in Tulsa, he said that the University recruited heavily and joked that, “when you have an Italian mother, you want to go somewhere to experience freedom.” But, on a more serious note, Corritore feels that his college experience “taught me discipline and how to be my own person.”
When he returned to Chicago, he continued to study every facet of the genre and connected with more of his blues idols. At the time the legal drinking age in Illinois was 19, so Corritore hit the clubs in the hopes of sitting in with his heroes. He started getting stage time with Lonnie Brooks, blowing harp with Mighty Joe Young, and getting called up to play a few numbers with none other than Koko Taylor.
Corritore recalled that, “I was getting a lot of kindness and encouragement, probably more than I deserved. But I guess I had the thing. I was musical and had a sense of composition in my playing and I was really listening to the blues. I think once you know the Chicago blues language, the older guys picked up on that and they wanted to encourage me.”
During the early eighties, Corritore continued to hone his harmonica skills by sitting in at clubs on the north, south, and west sides of Chicago. He got some gigs around town, too. But he found it difficult to embrace the blues lifestyle and hold down a nine-to-five. After all, “how could any self-respecting harp player miss the regular Sunday night gig with Big Walter Horton at Blues on Halsted?”
In another twist of fate, his brother invited him to come out to the desert state. His idea was to escape the wicked Chicago winter for a year, but the universe had other plans. It’s against this backdrop that put Corritore on the path he was destined for, with a series of serendipitous occurrences setting the stage for his next act.
One of the main characters in his Phoenix blues rising was Louisiana Red. Corritore had played with Red at the Delta Fish Market, they hit it off and exchanged numbers. Still, it came as a bit of a surprise when Red rang up Corritore’s landline and told him he was heading to Phoenix. Soon, they were jamming together at Red’s new girlfriend’s place. Not long after that, the same lady called Corritore and told him to pick up Red because she was booting him out!
Corritore couldn’t leave “orphan” Red adrift in Phoenix, so he took him in to live with him, his brother, and then girlfriend. They became “family” and this arrangement resulted in countless morning jam sessions interspersed with real-life lessons.
Looking back on this period, Corritore said, “guardian angel” Red was “guiding my life in ways I didn’t even realize at the time.” These meant-to-be moments included the first show that Corritore booked for Red at the Purple Turtle, which later became Corritore’s own Rhythm Room. He also accompanied Red to a radio interview at the same station where Corritore’s been on air since 1984.
Corritore also credits Red with establishing him as a musician in Phoenix. His association with Red led to later gigs with Big Pete Pearson, Buddy Reed, Tommy Dukes, Chief Schabuttie Gilliame, and Janiva Magness.
Another catalyst for Corritore’s next act was Howlin’ Wolf’s former drummer, Chico Chism, who came out to Arizona on Corritore’s invitation in 1986. It was supposed to be a temporary visit, but Chism ended up putting roots down there as the pair embarked on a fruitful twenty-year partnership.
When Corritore opened the Rhythm Room in 1991 the cards all started falling into place. Not only was he entrenched in the Phoenix blues scene, but he still had his Chicago connections and had forged strong relationships with numerous booking agents and promoters. This arrangement made it easier for Corritore to orchestrate studio sessions with visiting musicians after they had played at the Rhythm Room.
Corritore long had the vision to release recordings of all these magical moments but needed to wait until the timing was right. That happened in 1999 when he put out Bob Corritore’s All-Star Blues Sessions featuring an eye-popping array of blues artists in peak form including Bo Diddley, RL Burnside, Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Rogers and many others. This was just the first of many From the Vaults recordings that Corritore, along with longtime producer Clarke Rigsby, put out.
Corritore said he waited until he was in his forties to start releasing this twelve-year backlog of blues tracks because “My parents weren’t in great health, so I wanted to have time to focus on them. My dad died in 1994 and my mom in 1998. After they had passed, it was time to start the next chapter of my life.” He added that although his parents had wanted him to have a corporate-type job, they encouraged and supported his decision to make music his life’s work. They had moved to Phoenix in 1983, so they were able to see firsthand how his musical career fulfilled him.
A lot has happened since then and sadly many of Corritore’s friends and collaborators have passed on. Corritore turns sixty-nine this year, but he presses on in his quest to preserve all these musical memories. His thirtieth release is called Doin’ the Shout, and it just came out last month. He’s got two more recordings in the hopper for this year, including one with his old mentor Willie Buck. They will be released on the VizzTone label group, which Corritore is proud to have a long-term partnership with.
As Corritore said, “you never know where life will take you,” and blues lovers the world over are grateful that he’s taken us on this incredible ride. It will also be interesting to see what direction he takes us next. Based on his successful track record, it’s a safe bet that Corritore and friends will be turning out something fantastic!
