True Blues originals are hard to come by, but this L.A. based singer/keyboardist is nothing if not wholly original...a pungently gritty singer who pens tunes that work vigorous new wrinkles into the most timeworn of fashions. A revelation."
- Billboard Magazine



Mighty Mo Rodgers is a remarkably original singer/songwriter who has shaped his life experiences into a terrifically eclectic and immensely deep vision on his Verve/Blue Thumb debut, "Blues Is My Wailin' Wall."

Born Maurice Rodgers in the steel town of East Chicago, Indiana, where he studied classical piano, he had the distinct benefit of his fatherıs nightclub and the up close and personal influences of the blues and jazz players who performed there. As a teenager, sneaking into the notorious Chicken Shack with his best friend Willie B. in nearby Gary, he was awestruck by the blues of Willie Dixon, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Reed and others.

Although music was a major part of his life, he exhibited an athletic prowess as the state high school wrestling champ, which earned him a scholarship to Indiana State University. It was there he began exploring the songwriting aspect of his musical abilities, fronting The Maurice Rodgers Combo on Wurlitzer piano. With music as his guide, Rodgers traded in his school books for a one-way ticket to L.A. where he gigged with T-Bone Walker, Albert Collins, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jimmy Reed, and many others. That's his Farfisa organ on Brenton Wood's 1967 hit, "Gimme Some Kind Of Sign."

But still what he considers as one of his most important accomplishments was producing an album for his all-time greatest heroes, folk/blues legends Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. The critically acclaimed 1973 A&M release, Sonny and Brownie, was a watershed event for Rodgers. He selected the material, which featured three of his own compositions, rounded up John Mayall, Arlo Guthrie, John Hammond, Michael Franks and Sugarcane Harris and others as backing musicians -- and galvanized his relationship with Terry and McGhee.

"They were musicians who demonstrated throughout their careers that the blues is a soulful reflection of the spirit, the heritage and the language of black people in America," Rodgers relates. "Sonny and Brownie gave me the inspiration to write with a much more personal perspective, to write about real life experiences, to write about the truths of everyday life."

Disillusioned with the Hollywood formula that began dominating music, he enrolled at Cal State Northridge where he earned a degree in philosophy while simultaneously working as a staff songwriter for Chappell Publishing and Motown. Rodgers financed the recording of "Wailin' Wall" with a loan from his school's credit union, which enabled him to make his musical statement without the usual music business interference. It was a good move on his part, as the record has been enthusiastically received throughout the world, and Rodgers has been hailed as a significant new voice in the blues.

Discography

1999 BLUES IS MY WAILING WALL (Universal/Blue Thumb)

Coming in 2002 ... RED, WHITE AND BLUES

Awards:

2000:
WC HANDY AWARD NOMINATION -Best New Blues Artist
LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE - -Runner-up: Blues Album of the Year

1999:
French Choc L'Annee 1999 - Blues Album of the Year

 » Press release (PDF)