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Joe Bonamassa was born in New York in 1977. His father played and sold guitars, so Joe had a small Chiquita guitar in his hands
by the age of four. Soaking up every influence he could from the likes of SRV, Jimmy Page, Paul Kossoff, Eric Clapton et al, he moved to a full size model at the age of seven and was performing locally by the age of ten.
The young guitarist's reputation spread and by the age of twelve, he had been invited to open for BB King, who was so impressed, he called him "one of a kind". Joe went on to work alongside Buddy Guy, Danny Gatton and Robert Cray, before signing to EMI with his own group Bloodline while still in his teens.
This was fairly successful, but disbanded after one album. Joe was ready to move on, this time at the vocal mic as well as guitar. Since 2000, he has recorded, incredibly, nine solo albums which have further established him as a very capable player with a great voice.
These examples show Joe's aggressive, yet melodic style of blues playing. You can learn them by following our free tab. If you're new to tab you can learn what the symbols means from our tab guide.
Joe has around 200 guitars, collecting them since the age of thirteen. More recently Joe has been using Gibson Les Pauls most often. He has simplified his amplifier/effects setup considerably, though his guitar is often soaked with expensive sounding, high quality reverb in the studio mix.
Our examples are played on the bridge pickup with a dollop of distortion, though a little less than a full-on rock player.
If you're a Joe Bonamassa fan you should also check out our video of Joe showing you his live rig and his video lessons on moving around the fretboard and soloing.
For more information visit the official Joe Bonamassa website.
