Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s career launched to stardom when he was only 18 years old with his debut album Ledbetter Heights, featuring his explosive guitar solos that blended rock with traditional blues. This album earned platinum status and brought blues-rock to mainstream success. Now Shepherd takes his electrifying blues-rock sound to The Paramount in Huntington on March 8 with the Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour celebrating his breakthrough album.
“In a lot of ways, this is the album that gave me everything,” says Shepherd. “Revisiting it put me back in touch with the wonder and excitement of those days. I didn’t know what lay ahead. I just knew I loved playing the blues.”
At only 13 years old, Shepherd was signed to a major label, and fame followed shortly after with the 1995 release of Ledbetter Heights. Since then, Kenny Wayne Shepherd has earned six Grammy nominations, two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards and two Orville H. Gibson Awards. His albums have gone platinum and gold.
This native of Shreveport, Louisiana, was introduced to some musical greats by his dad, Ken Shepherd, who was a DJ and concert promoter. When he was only 7 years old, his dad took him to a Stevie Ray Vaughan concert where he was mesmerized by Vaughan. That set Kenny Wayne Shepherd on his career as a blues-rock guitarist. Like his idol, Shepherd is self-taught and doesn’t read music, but that seems to have only freed up his soulful musicianship. Shepherd has earned the reputation as one of the greatest blues guitarists of his generation.
As a snapshot into his personal life, Shepherd has been married to Hannah Gibson, the eldest daughter of actor Mel Gibson, since 2006, and the couple has six children.
Joining Kenny Wayne Shepherd at the Paramount on March 8 is his band of consummate musicians, including powerful vocalist and guitarist Noah Hunt; Sam Bryant, who was the drummer on the first tour during the initial Ledbetter Heights release; Kevin McCormick on bass; Joe Krown on keyboards; Doug Woolverton on trumpet; and Charlie Di Puma on saxophone.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd gave this interview just prior to hitting the road for the Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour.
Ledbetter Heights was released in 1995 when you were just 18. Back then were you prepared for the success that suddenly came your way?
I guess, because I survived it all. Thirty years later I’m still talking about it so I guess that was prepared, but I didn’t know what was actually going to happen. I was cautiously optimistic. We could put this record out and nobody will care or we could put it out and the people might react to it. Thankfully, we released it and they reacted in a positive way very quickly, so it was the beginning of a career that’s going on over three decades now and I’m grateful, but I was a kid so I really didn’t have any idea what to expect.
How does it feel now to know that this is the 30th anniversary of Ledbetter Heights?
It’s really exciting! To celebrate 30 years of making music, doing what we love to do and building a fan base that’s been with us for this whole journey is a big milestone worth celebrating. A lot of people have an attachment to this record because it takes them back to when they first heard about me and were first turned on to my music. “Deja Voodoo,” “Born with a Broken Heart,” and “Aberdeen,” which were the singles on that record, got tons of airplay on the radio and did extremely well. So, there are people that are very familiar with this record and it’s a nostalgic thing I think both for them and for me as well.
When did you realize that playing the blues was where you belonged?
I love playing guitar and I gravitated towards the blues. There was something about the music. It was just the emotion that guitar players put into playing the blues that really attracted me. I listen to all kinds of music, but when I pick up the guitar I want to play the blues.
This is also going to be a first for Hunt because he did not sing on the original Ledbetter Heights. Didn’t he join your band right after that album?
That’s right. He’s been singing some of these songs that we put into shows for a long time but some of these he’s never sung before. We recorded a new version of the Ledbetter Heights album that we’re going to release in conjunction with the tour so it has Noah singing all the songs that Corey [Sterling] in the original. Noah’s been with me now for 28 years and a lot of fans over the years have said I wonder what Ledbetter Heights would have sounded like if Noah was in the band back then. So, people will finally get a chance to hear that.
What do you see as a major difference now that Hunt is performing the Ledbetter Heights songs?
It sounds like my music but with his style. Noah has a different approach. Corey, the first singer on Ledbetter Heights, was an alternative rock singer that we brought into a blues-based rock band so there was an interesting juxtaposition with that music. Noah listened to a lot of blues music when he was growing up so he is a little more at home singing blue.
What should fans expect when they come to your concert at The Paramount on March 8?
For the first time ever we’re going to play every song off the Ledbetter Heights to celebrate that first album that helped put me on the map and connected me with a lot of the people that will be coming to see the shows. Then we’re gonna play some other killer tracks from our catalog that now spans over 30 years. It’s going to be a night of amazing music.
When you crafted Ledbetter Heights, what was your motivation for an album that was a tribute to blues legend Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter?
He spent a lot of time just outside my hometown so his influence is notable there. They named a neighborhood Ledbetter Heights in honor of him, so I thought it was a great connection between where I come from and my love and appreciation for the blues.
How has being born and growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, influenced your music?
It exposed me to a lot of different kinds of music. I grew up listening to everything from blues, rock, country, gospel, R&B, funk and everything. And there was a good music scene in the area. We could get in the car and drive three hours to Dallas or five hours to New Orleans, Austin, or Memphis and see all kinds of killer live music. When I was young, my dad and I did a lot. Geographically and culturally, I think it was a great place to grow up and it had a huge influence on who I am as a person.
What’s next after this tour?
I have another record finishing up that’s coming out probably the beginning of next year. It’s a rock’n’roll cover album with really interesting choices on it and I’m putting together another blues album with Bobby Rush. We released an album last March and we had so much fun that I would like to make another record with him. I’ve also been writing songs for another new Kenny Wayne Shepherd record.
