Colin Linden

Colin Linden is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer from Toronto. He is primarily known as a blues guitarist, but he also works frequently in folk and country settings. He is a member of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings alongside Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson, and he also appears as part of the Neverending Tour Band and The Tennessee Valentines.

Background and early life

Linden is born in 1960 and is raised in White Plains, New York before returning to Canada in 1970. He is already a guitar prodigy by the age of 11, and as a teenager he meets and is mentored by Howlin’ Wolf, an encounter that helps shape his path in roots and blues music. At 15, he and fellow Canadian musician Doc MacLean travel through the United States on a summer blues journey, performing with and meeting a wide range of blues figures including Sippie Wallace, Buddy Moss, Little Brother Montgomery, Sunnyland Slim, Tampa Red, Henry Townsend, Robert Wilkins, Sleepy John Estes, Son House and Sam Chatmon.

Session work, production and collaborations

Linden builds a large career as both a performer and a behind-the-scenes collaborator. He works with artists including Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King and The Band. He also serves as a guitarist for artists such as Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. His reputation extends to recording and production: he has played on close to 400 recordings and has a producer credit on more than 100 albums.

Songwriting and recordings

His songs are recorded by The Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Keb’ Mo’ and Colin James. He has a substantial solo catalogue as well, with slide guitar forming an important part of his sound. His earlier studio album The Immortals appears in 1986, and From the Water is later viewed as a tribute of sorts to his long-time collaborator Richard Bell, a keyboardist who had been in Janis Joplin’s Full Tilt Boogie Band. Linden and Bell play together on more than 100 albums, including records by The Band, Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and Colin James.

Awards and recognition

Linden receives eight JUNO Awards, along with multiple Maple Blues Awards and a Toronto Arts Award. He is nominated for a Grammy Award for A Tribute to Howlin’ Wolf. He is also nominated in 2002 for Lucinda Williams’ contribution to the Timeless Hank Williams tribute album, and he is involved in the O Brother, Where Art Thou project, where O Brother wins Best Album and the Down From the Mountain soundtrack wins Folk Album of the Year; Linden and Chris Thomas King share a song credit on that soundtrack.

Labels and publishing

His recordings and publishing activity are associated with Group du Jour Productions Inc., Colin Linden Music Publishing and The King of Humility Publishing. He returns to the same label for Rich in Love that first releases his studio debut The Immortals.