The belief that children always follow in their parents’ footsteps has been proven true in the case of Joe Bonamassa, who is now a renowned guitarist, singer, and songwriter. It is worth noting that his early interest in the guitar is due to the fact that his parents owned and operated a guitar shop. Joe Bonamassa was encouraged by his parents to try his hand at music at an early age, and today he has reached the peak of his career in the entertainment industry.
Joe Bonamassa Brief Biography
Joseph Leonard Bonamassa, popularly known by his fans as Joe Bonamassa, was born on May 8, 1977, in New Hartford, New York. Joe, who has American citizenship, was born to Len Bonamassa (father) and Debra Bonamassa (mother). He grew up at the side of his only sister Lindsay Bonamassa. Joe is a well-known American blues-rock guitarist, songwriter, and singer who started playing the guitar at the tender age of four. In the early stages of his career, Joe received much encouragement and support from his father, who is an avid music fan and also owned and ran a guitar store. He pays tribute to his parents, who encouraged the appreciation of music in his childhood life.
Joe’s father Len Bonamassa exposed the aspiring singer to British blues-rock records by Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, which was a great inspiration to him. Joe started playing guitar professionally when he needed enough money to buy a Nintendo deluxe game. He received his lessons at the age of 11 from none other than American guitar legend Danny Gatton. At the age of 12, he had his own band called ‘Smokin’ Joe Bonamassa. The band made an impression in western New York and Pennsylvania as well as in other cities such as Buffalo and Scranton.
In order not to let his education suffer, Joe and his band were only allowed to perform on the weekends because school activities took up the weekdays. Finally, at the age of 12, the young guitarist B.B. King, the blues legend, met the blues legend after his mother received a call from Richard Thornton, a promoter who was working on location, asking if Joe could play as a support act in a concert with King as a headliner. For his part, blues legend B.B. King was impressed with Joe’s performance and invited him to tour with his own band over the summer.
ALSO READ: Ashton Irwin Bio: 5 fast Facts You Need To Know
Joe opened almost 20 shows for B.B. King by 1989, and before he was 18 years old, he was in a band called Bloodline with the sons of Berry Oakley, Miles Davis, and Robby Krieger. The band drew a lot of attention to the Bonamassa guitar business, even though it didn’t become popular as expected.
A New Day Yesterday was Joe’s debut studio album, released in 2000, which featured some original tunes as well as cover versions by some renowned artists like Jethro Tull, Warren Haynes, and Rory Gallagher. Gregg Allman had a guest appearance on the album entitled If Heartaches Were Nickels and the production was handled by Tom Dowd. This particular album made it to number nine on the Billboard Blues Charts.
Since then, Joe Allman has gained more and more strength in his career. Between 2002 and 2006, three of his studio albums made it to #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and five of his solo studio albums made it to the Top 10. Joe has had tremendous success with his live album Beacon Theatre-Live from New York, which was released in 2012. Equally successful was the guitarist’s live acoustic album – An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House, which was launched on March 26, 2013. Among the shows he did in the same year were his spring tour 2013 at the famous Beacon Theatre in New York City and the four shows he performed in London, where he appeared with three different bands. And finally, on December 6, 2013, Joe received a Grammy Award nomination together with Beth Hart for their 2013 album entitled Seesaw in the category Best Blues Album. Joe’s other solo albums include Different Shades of Blue and So, It’s Like That, and countless others.
Is Joe Bonamassa Married? Wife
Sandi Thom was Joe’s official girlfriend for a very long time, their relationship lasted so long that people naturally began to expect the good news of the impending marriage from the turtledoves, but to their biggest surprise, a relationship that outwardly seemed unbreakable gradually dissolved and the couple was separated in 2015. There seems to be no chance of reconciliation, as Sandi is now married to Matt and is expecting her first child. Joe, on the other hand, is still visibly single, and there is no sign of a new girlfriend to replace Sandi.
ALSO READ: Lucky Blue Smith Bio, Family, Age, Height, Girlfriend and Other Facts To Know
Net Worth
The famous singer, rock guitarist, and songwriter has accumulated a breathtaking fortune of 20 million dollars. It is common knowledge that Joe has released 15 solo albums in the last 13 years and 11 of the 15 albums have reached number 1 in the Billboard Blues Charts, so his fortune continues to grow over time.