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Bruce
McCabe was born in Maquoketa and raised in Clinton, Iowa.
He played keyboards and guitar at a very early age, taking
classical piano lessons before discovering The Beatles, Ray Charles, and
the Blues.
He had a band in Clinton during his high school years, and
eventually ended up in Minneapolis with a band called Aces, Straights
& Shuffles.
The band featured the vocals and harmonica of Kim Wilson, who was
soon coaxed into moving to Austin, Texas by Jimmie Vaughan to form The
Fabulous Thunderbirds.
McCabe
would go on to spend considerable time in two very popular area bands -
The Lamont Cranston Band (who are coming to Blues On Grand on March
15th) and The Hoopsnakes.
Bruce was on the keyboards when the Lamont Cranston Band was
selected as the opening band for some shows by the Rolling Stones.
They also toured with Bonnie Raitt and opened for the great Muddy
Waters during Bruce’s tenure with the band.
McCabe
has been an integral part of Jonny Lang's band since shortly after
meeting him when he opened for The Hoopsnakes when Lang was 14 years
old.
After being blown away by Jonny’s talent and soul, Bruce soon
joined forces with the young man, contributing his tremendous keyboard
mastery, along with his excellent songwriting.
“Rack ‘Em Up” is a McCabe composition and he also co-wrote
“Lie To Me,” two of the most notable songs from Lang’s smash
major-label debut.
Lang has gone on to be one of the biggest-selling Blues artists
of all time and the band has toured with The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith,
B.B. King, among others.
Bruce has had a big hand (or hands) in that success.
McCabe,
backed by Jonny’s band, has also recently released his own self-titled
CD on Ryan Cory Records, which includes guest spots from Lang and Pat
Hayes.
McCabe can also be heard on recordings by Luther Allison, Bernard
Allison, James Solberg, Shannon Curfman, R.J. Mischo, Big Head Todd
& The Monsters, and G.B. Leighton, among others.
For more information on Bruce McCabe, log on to Blues On Stage at
www.mnblues.com.
(Thanks to Ray Stiles for permission to use the info from his
interview with Bruce.)
- Don
"T-Bone" Erickson FEATURE PHOTO BY RAY STILES
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Bruce