I have been a Ronnie Earl fan for a long, long time.

I had the opportunity to meet him personally and hang out backstage before a concert a few years ago. He is a gracious man who understands the value of giving to others.

Ronnie Earl at The Narrows

For those who do not know, Ronnie is now in his mid-50s and has been part of the blues music scene for many years.

Deeply inspired by Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker and Otis Rush, he started to play guitar in the 1970′s. He left the first major group he worked with in 1988, and moved on to build a solo career with his own band, The Broadcasters.

Along the way, he went on to tour the world with Santana, sometimes playing for audiences of as many as 40,000 people.

Recent years, however, found his career sidelined by a variety of health problems, which are thankfully, today, under control. When he says he’s feeling fine, he is, thanks, but the idea of touring again is as far from his mind as it can be.

“I did that for more than 25 years,” he says, “and nothing is better than one’s own home and one’s own family and friends. It makes me feel grounded. I have a wonderful wife, I’m close to our church, I live in the country and I want to be in my own home, every day.”

These days Ronnie is healthy, happily married and playing with the Broadcasters in the New England area and if you are fortunate to live in that area you still have a chance to see one of the finest blues guitar players — ever.

Visit Ronnie’s web site and follow his tour schedule by CLICKING HERE.

The video below was posted a few days ago on YouTube (thank you ZigBlues) from a concert Ronnie played last month at The Narrows in Fall River, MA.

On that night, Ronnie invited 16 year old guitarist Julie Melucci to join him on stage for a blues jam she will never forget!

My favorite part of the video comes at 5:30 when Ronnie motions that he is going to step back and let Julie showcase her chops!

By the way, a new recording from the Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters titled: “Spread the Love” is set to be released on August 24th, 2010 by Stoney Plains Records. Stay tuned to TheGuitarBuzz.com for more details and a full review as soon as the CD becomes available.

Lee Ritenour's 6-String Theory CD

This is an UPDATE of a previous post…

The long awaited CD from Lee Ritenour titled “6-String Theory” has been released and is now available on iTunes and Amazon.com to download.

“Six String Theory” pushes the limits of the guitar by combining superstar guitarists from the worlds of rock, blues, country, jazz/fusion, acoustic, and classical/flamenco genres — all into one massive effort.

I have written in the past that I love (almost) every style of guitar music and what I love about this CD is that it crosses the boundaries of many different genres to provide a refreshing mix of 6-String styles.

By assembling the talents of Lee Ritenour, B.B. King, George Benson, John Scofield, Steve Lukather, Vince Gill, Slash, Pat Martino, Mike Stern, Neal Schon, Robert Cray, Keb Mo, Taj Majal, Jonny Lang, Joe Bonamasa, Andy Mckee, Guthrie Govan, Joe Robinson, Tomoyasu Hotei and Shon Boublil (Winner of Yamaha Six String Theory Competition), the album appears destined to be a huge success.

I’m excited to announce that the “Six String Theory” project is finally done! We’ve finished up mastering and are excited to share the music with everyone. We’ve assembled an incredible roster of guest guitarists on the album in many different genres from up and coming Shon Boublil at 16 years old playing classical guitar to blues guitar icon BB King at age 84. This was an amazing album for me to produce and perform on… - From Lee Ritenour’s web site

Watch the Video: