This music has been in me since I was a kid. Yet, in all my years of recording and performing it's my first solo record and my first blues record. During my grade school years I loved the sounds of the delta and the sounds of Chicago blues. Growing up in Southern, IL. along the Mississippi, my home in Randolph Co. was the halfway point.

By the time I was 12 I had begun performing with older musicians. It was a great escape from hard work on Dad's farm. By the time I was 17 I was working with a blues oriented electric group, "Farm". We got lots of airplay on what was then "underground" FM radio. A few years later Farm had run it's course and European reissues and bootlegs followed. I returned to the acoustic sounds I loved, playing across the U.S. and abroad with The Gordons.

"Real Blue" comes from way down inside... Some are originals, some I had written for the great blind bluesman Jimmy Skinner, some obscure, a few in tribute to the originators who influenced me so deeply.

Joining me here are my dear friends Tim Beattie, harpist extraordinaire, Ross Sermons, standup bassman par excellence and my son Noah Gordon on drums. Tim is the equal of any living harmonica player. We've worked a ton of dates together and he is always the epitome of taste and invention. Ross throws down the tone.. be it rich and sweet or powerful and driving. Like any great bassman he'll tip his hat to Willie Dixon while moving beyond that to become a stylist in his own right.

Noah was a fine drummer by age 13, by 18 he moved to Nashville and has immersed himself in music since. Being my son, I welcomed this opportunity for us to work together on the record. Noah brought along a wealth of studio experience helping all the way thru mix and mastering of "Real Blue" Most of my fans across this planet will know my as an acoustic player. Most have never heard this side of me.

This record is a million miles away from the grimacing bar band music that has masquaraded as blues for so long. This is the real animal... Music from my heart, music from my past and present..and future.

Musicians:
Gary Gordon: vocals, all guitars, resonator, slide
Tim Beattie: harmonica
Ross Sermons: standup bass
Noah Gordon: drums