Last Tuesday, May 14, acclaimed American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Kenny Wayne Shepherd went down memory lane in the "Music Journeys" podcast with WCBE's Mike Foley, recalling core moments in his expansive music career, alongside thoughts on his latest project.
Dubbed "Dirt On My Diamonds Vol. 1," the project is Shepherd's 11th album and was released last year, 26 years after he shared his sophomore effort: his 1997 "Trouble Is..." -- which set a record for the longest stay ever on Billboard's Blues Albums charts.
On Kenny Wayne Shepherd and His Career
Although the blues mainstay's early-career acclaim as an 18-year-old prodigy in 1995 was what he is primarily known for, playing with the same edge and mastery as "seasoned" contemporaries at the time, Shepherd's genius actually started way earlier.
According to his statement to Foley in the "Music Journeys" podcast, he was already playing music at the age of 3, but it was at 7 years old when he finally locked in and got hooked on the riffs and the runs.
"I just loved it and it gave me something to focus on. It was therapeutic for me... I just enjoyed it," he said, adding that it began to snowball from there.
By 13 years old, Shepherd got his big break when a record producer from Sony, who was also a friend of his dad, visited their home and saw him playing.
Afterward, the producer invited the young musician for a studio session and gave him his first taste of the life he'd unknowingly live triumphantly for decades later in his career.
One year from that momentous event, at age 14, Shepherd was already making demos. A year later, he already had his own band. At age 16, he was fast-tracked into signing his own record deal, culminating in the release of his ever-beloved debut album "Ledbetter Heights" in 1995.
This particular record blasted Shepherd's fame into the stratosphere and established him as a notable figure in the blues scene, all at the young age of 18 years old.
Since then, the five-time Grammy-nominated blues artist has released equally monumental projects, with the latest one aiming to tie together all of his core influences in a "tapestry" of soundscapes that highlights his evolution as a musician.
You can now stream this "tapestry" yourself by clicking here. You can also sample tracks from the "Dirt on My Diamonds, Vol. 1" right below.
