Eric Bibb

Eric Bibb’s father Leon was an important artist in the 1950s and ’60s New York folk scene and Odetta and Pete Seeger were frequent guests in the family’s home. Singer/Actor/Activist Paul Robeson was Bibb’s godfather and life advice at age 11 from Bob Dylan. Bibb moved to Europe after dropping out of Columbia at 19 where he established himself as an up-and-coming blues star, following in the footsteps of Taj Mahal (who followed in the footsteps of Leadbelly and others before him). After busking in Paris, Bibb took his guitar to Sweden, where he learned about American blues and traditional music from the distanced European point-of-view. Like many jazz and blues artists, his reputation grew overseas before he was recognized in the States an even now, with more than a dozen stellar blues albums to his name, Bibb commands larger audiences in countries across the ocean. He now makes his home in London. Bibb’s latest release, Diamond Days, is on the Telarc Blues label.