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 James
Kinds
2008 INDUCTEE
James Kinds has always possessed a powerful
voice, cutting his teeth on southern Gospel and developing his own
distinctive style as a young man. Born in 1943 in Drew, Mississippi, he
first sang in the church choir, which led to his joining the Gospel quartet,
Spirit Of Joy.
Inspired by juke-joint Blues and early Rock & Roll, he left Mississippi for
Chicago in 1958 where he became a fixture on the local music scene mixing
Blues with Soul and awing audiences with his explosive delivery and intense
stage routine.
In Chicago, he started out with The Soul Seekers, and
hooked up with Little Mack Simmons in 1961. In addition to doing some gigs
with Kansas City Red, Roy Hytower, Lee Shot Williams, Little Caesar, Johnny
B. Moore, and Eddie King, James has had the opportunity to work with Blues
legends Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells, Ike Turner, Lonnie Brooks, and Bobby
Rush.
Kinds wrote a song called “Ada” that garnered
international attention and he was named “Best Blues Artist” by Blues
News magazine in 1976. Kinds has also been featured in Living Blues
magazine.
He was part of a European tour in 1977 that included a
show at the Berlin Jazz Festival as part of The New Generation of Chicago
Blues Revue, which also included Billy Branch and Lurrie Bell, among others,
and was hosted by the legendary Willie Dixon.
James now makes his home in Dubuque, where he has been
performing regularly with his current band, The All Night Riders. The band
recently released their third album, Don’t Get It Twisted.
They have performed at several fests including the
Prairie Dog Blues Festival. James had the honor of performing at the Chicago
Blues Festival in 2007 and has been featured in the Dubuque Telegraph
Herald several times.
The word has been spreading about James Kinds and he
now holds the honor of being inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame.
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