Max Drake
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{short description|American blues guitarist (born 1952)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Max Drake|
| image = Max Drake.jpg
| caption = Drake performing in 2012
| imagesize =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|06|01}}
| birth_place = Burlington, North Carolina, United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
| instrument = Guitar, mandolin
| genre = Blues, Piedmont blues
| occupation = Musician, songwriter, teacher
| years_active = 1975–present
| label =
| associated_acts = {{unbulleted list|Skeeter Brandon|Big Bill Morganfield|Mel Melton}}|
}}
Max Voorhees Drake II (born June 1, 1952) is an American blues guitarist and songwriter from Yanceyville, North Carolina.{{cite web| title=Max Drake makes his own mark on blues guitar playing| url=https://www.caswellmessenger.com/news/article_10f00834-be62-11eb-8ffa-6b6146f0879b.html|website=Caswellmessenger.com| date=May 26, 2021|accessdate=June 18, 2021}}{{cite web|last=Simpson|first=Doug|date=July 23, 1997|title=Drake Often Lent Helping Hand; Now He Needs One|url=https://greensboro.com/drake-often-lent-helping-hand-now-he-needs-one/article_2315ea8c-8135-5eb0-a69e-fba06ed194a7.html|access-date=June 18, 2021|website=Greensboro.com}} He has performed with musicians such as B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Nappy Brown.{{cite web| title=Bars, Blues and Booze| url=https://www.regulatorbookshop.com/event/emily-edwards-mel-melton-max-drake-bars-blues-and-booze|website=Regulatorbookshop.com|accessdate=June 20, 2021}}
Biography
= Early life and career =
Max Drake was born in Burlington, North Carolina and grew up in Reidsville. He started his first band at age 23 in 1975. From the mid-1970s until 1989 he gained distinction as a guitarist in Arhooly R&B Deluxe Band. While in Arhooly, there were performances with prominent bluesmen including B.B. King, Bo Diddley, and Robert Cray.{{cite web| title=North Carolina singer Shelia Grady Carlisle talks about the Blues, Arhooly, B.B. King and the hippie era| url=http://blues.gr/profiles/blogs/north-carolina-singer-shelia-grady-carlisle-talks-about-the-blues|website=Blues.gr|accessdate=June 23, 2021}} Drake became especially known for his agility on slide guitar.
In the 1990s, Drake performed with the Charlotte-based Extraordinaires and also Thomas "Mookie" Brill before recording and performing frequently with Skeeter Brandon.{{cite web| title=N.C. Treasure Sings the Blues| url=https://greensboro.com/n-c-treasure-sings-the-blues/article_240ebd6c-fdac-55df-bbdf-79a0b34895e6.html|website=Greensboro.com| date=July 1998|accessdate=June 22, 2021}} In the 2000s, he played rhythm guitar in Big Bill Morganfield's band, going on worldwide tours.{{cite web| title=The Talk of Teronus with Wezo & Drave – with guest Max Drake| date=May 31, 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fe_i1WEvQw&t=746s|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=June 18, 2021}} Morganfield is the son of Muddy Waters (aka McKinley Morganfield) often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues."{{cite AV media |title=Muddy Waters: Can't Be Satisfied |type=DVD |year=2003 |publisher=Winstar Communications}}
As the band toured Europe, blues enthusiasts became increasingly interested in Morganfield. Many were familiar with his father's seminal contributions to electric blues from his work on Chess Records. It was said that the band's version of Waters' "Got My Mojo Working" stood up to the original. Tours in Spain that Drake accompanied him on particularly enjoyed popularity due to the legacy connection to Waters.
After the multiyear run with Morganfield ended, Drake stayed closer to his home and family in Caswell County, North Carolina. He went on to work extensively with Mel Melton & The Wicked Mojos in the 2010s while teaching aspiring blues artists.{{cite web| title=A Fool For Your Stockings – Max Drake| url=https://www.bmansbluesreport.com/2012/03/fool-for-your-stockings-max-drake.html|website=Bmansbluesreport.com|accessdate=June 21, 2021}}{{cite web| title=Matt Walsh talks 'blues'|url=http://www.collegiatetimes.com/lifestyle/matt-walsh-talks-blues/article_fd44d7bd-31f7-501f-9720-752e1975e693.html|website=Collegiatetimes.com|date=September 22, 2010 |accessdate=June 20, 2021}}
Drake has performed at public schools in North Carolina in partnership with the Greensboro-based Piedmont Blues Preservation Society.{{cite web| title=Weso and Max "You Must Be Jelly, 'Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That"| date=March 25, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn3Vot9lF50|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=June 22, 2021}}
Discography
- Got it Bad (1995)
- New Moon Blues on Rise (1996)
- Global Voices: Traditional, Sacred & Contemporary Vocal Music (1998)
- Contemporary Global Voices (2000)
- Popskull & High Art (2008)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f_kjP-bXjQ/ Skeeter Brandon: "The Sky is Crying" (Max Drake, guitar)]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srF8ZM79rls/ Extraordinaires: "Dark End of the Street" (Max Drake on lead guitar)]
- [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/max-drake-mn0001416550/credits/ All Music – Max Drake]
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Category:American blues guitarists
Category:American male guitarists
Category:People from Burlington, North Carolina
Category:People from Reidsville, North Carolina
Category:People from Yanceyville, North Carolina
Category:Guitarists from North Carolina
Category:20th-century American guitarists
Category:20th-century American male musicians
Category:21st-century American guitarists