Blues guitarist Roy Gaines was born in Waskorn, Texas on August 12, 1937. When he was young, he first developed a passion for the piano, but eventually switched to the guitar as a teenager. At 14, he had already performed on stage alongside one of his heroes, T-Bone Walker, and relocated to Houston, Texas, where he would perform at all the nightclubs in the city. Looking for a more stable musical career, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he performed as a guitarist for legendary blues artists such as Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, and Big Mama Thornton. In 1961, he appeared on the Freedom Sound album as a member of the Jazz Crusaders. In 1966, he joined the Ray Charles Orchestra and served as a studio sideman for artists such as the Everly Brothers, The Supremes, Bobby Darin, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight. He then appeared on Les McCann’s 1974 album Another Beginning. He started his solo career late in his career, releasing Gaineling, his debut solo album, in 1982. Other albums in his catalog include Lucille Works for Me (1996), I Got the T-Bone Walker Blues (1999), Superman (2002), Rock-a-Billy Boogie Woogie Blues Man (2005), and Tuxedo Blues (2009). Roy Gaines died on August 11, 2021, just one day shy of his 84th birthday.
