Mike Dowling
{{short description|American songwriter}}
Mike Dowling is an American roots music guitarist and songwriter who is best known for his solo arrangements on the Grammy Award-winning composition CD Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/music/Grammy2005_winners.aspx|title=Complete List of the 47th Annual Grammy Award Winners|publisher=Christian Broadcasting Network|accessdate=August 14, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Pink Guitar |url=http://www.accentonmusic.com/cd_detail.asp?qID=139 |website=Accenton Music |publisher=Accenton Music |accessdate=14 August 2018}}{{cite web |title=Guitarist Dowling debuts in Woodstock |url=http://www.dailyfreeman.com/article/DF/20071012/NEWS/310129964 |website=Daily Freeman |publisher=Daily Freeman |accessdate=14 August 2018}} In 2005, Dowling was ranked as one of the twelve best fingerstyle guitarists in the United States.{{cite web |title=ADVANCED FINGERSTYLE WORKSHOP with Teja Gerken |url=https://pegheadnation.com/string-school/courses/advanced-fingerstyle-workshop/ |website=Peghead Nation |publisher=Peghead Nation |accessdate=14 August 2018}}
Early life
Dowling was raised in Wisconsin before moving to Nashville. He learned about song structures while taking piano lessons when he was ten years old.{{cite web |title=Fingerstyle guitarist Mike Dowling plays Pacifica |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/01/28/fingerstyle-guitarist-mike-dowling-plays-pacifica/ |website=Mercury News |publisher=Mercury News |accessdate=14 August 2018}} Dowling got his first guitar when he was twelve years old.
Career
After dropping out of college, Dowling was hired by fiddler Vassar Clements to play in his touring band, and his playing can be heard on Clement's Grammy-nominated Nashville Jam album.{{cite web |title=Vassar Clements |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/vassar-clements |website=Grammys |publisher=Grammys |accessdate=14 August 2018}} He performed and recorded with jazz violin pioneer Joe Venuti and mandolinist Jethro Burns. In 1991, Dowling released his first solo album, Beats Workin' , featuring Clements.{{cite web |title=Interview With Mike Dowling |url=http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/dowling.htm |website=Acoustic Finger Style |publisher=Acoustic Finger Style |accessdate=14 August 2018}} Dowling won a Grammy Award for his solo work on Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar. He designed the El Trovador guitar for National Reso-Phonic Guitars.{{cite web |title=Dowling trio stages Winship, Round |url=http://aarondavismusic.com/2012/11/music-box-dowling-trio-stages-winship-round/ |website=Aaron Davis Music |publisher=Aaron Davis Music |accessdate=14 August 2018}} Dowling was a guest on A Prairie Home Companion.{{cite web |title=Putting on the Style |url=https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/47462.html |website=Prairie Home Companion |publisher=Prairie Home Companion |accessdate=14 August 2018}}
Songwriting
While in Nashville, Dowling has written songs that were recorded by artists such as Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, Claire Lynch, Del McCoury and George Fox. A recording of his song Backtrackin' by The Nashville Bluegrass Band was nominated Bluegrass Song of the Year in 1994 by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
Personal life
Dowling lives in Wyoming with his wife Jan.{{cite web |title=Friends organize fundraiser for Jackson musician with Parkinson's |url=https://trib.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/friends-organize-fundraiser-for-jackson-musician-with-parkinson-s/article_82603470-f938-5bc9-be90-21297a869e80.html |website=Star Tribune |publisher=Star Tribune |accessdate=14 August 2018}} Dowling spends some of his free time as a guitar instructor where he also releases material on Homespun Tapes.{{cite book |last1=Dowling |first1=Mike |title=Acoustic Masterclass Series: Mike Dowling -- Uptown Blues (American Roots Guitar) |date=2004 |publisher=Alfred Music |isbn=0-7579-1530-2 |edition= Pap/Com }}
Discography
- Swamp Dog Blues (Strictly Country, 1995)
- Beats Workin' (Strictly Country, 1996)
- Live at the Cafe Carpe with Randy Sabien (Fiddlehead Music, 1996)
- String Crazy (Wind River Guitar, 2000)
- Two of a Kind with Pat Donohue (Solid Air, 2001)
- Bottomlands (Solid Air, 2001)
- Blue Fandango (Wind River Guitar, 2005)
- Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar (2004)
- The Blues Ain't News (Wind River Guitar, 2008)
- Eclectricity with David Lange (Wind River Guitar, 2011)
- Tracks (Wind River Guitar, 2015)
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Mike}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American male guitarists
Category:American blues guitarists
Category:American folk guitarists
Category:American fingerstyle guitarists
Category:Musicians from Wisconsin