Blues man Colin Linden hopes his Canadian star will shine in the U.S.

Although he's well-respected among musicians, Colin Linden is relatively unknown to the majority of Nashville music fans, most of whom are also unaware that Linden has won multiple Juno awards (Canada's equivalent of a Grammy), had his tunes recorded by The Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Keb Mo' and Colin James, produced sessions for Colin James, Sue Foley and Bruce Cockburn among others, and played on recordings featuring Cassandra Wilson, Lucinda Williams, Whitey Johnson (the alter ego of songwriter Gary Nicholson) and The Rankin Family.

But while he may not be a household name, Linden has been a professional since his teen years, when he met Howlin' Wolf, Sam Chatmon, Peg Leg Sam, Son House and Sippie Wallace, all before turning 18. He credits Wolf — who became a willing mentor in Toronto when Linden was 11 years old, and struck up a three-year friendship with him — with giving him the motivation and inspiration to seriously pursue a musical career.

"He could be rough and tough, but he really took me under his wing," Linden recalls. "He told me he knew he wouldn't be around that much longer and that it was important [the blues] continue. He was serious about the craft, but also knew how to have fun, and he was really kind to me when he could have just told me to get out of his face. That was what really got me started, along with the help I got from David Wilcox."

Wilcox, a superb player and craftsman, gave Linden 140 blues albums to help him learn to play slide guitar. After an apprenticeship in the '70s that included stints playing with Rick Danko, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm, Linden's reputation grew and his workload steadily increased. For the past 15 years, he's been a key member and contributor to the blues trio Blackie and The Rodeo Kings, along with Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson.  

Linden's also worked with plenty of Music City artists, most recently touring with Emmylou Harris. He says the experience provided another valuable lesson among many he's learned since moving here 12 years ago. "I consider myself a blues guitarist — that's my main thing," Linden said. "But at the same time I work in a lot of situations where that's not exactly what's called for, and you have to learn quickly what not to play and what's wanted in that instance."

"With Emmylou, you know the music's going to be first-rate, and she only wants people she thinks will add to that. So I learned immediately what was expected and it really helped, both in terms of playing with her band, and in terms of sharpening what I do overall. That's what you learn everyday in playing here, that there are many great musicians and there's an art to playing with people."

Another way Linden has practiced that art is by producing others' work. "There have been many times I've been producing a session or heard someone doing one of my songs and they've done it in a way that's completely different from how I envisioned it," Linden continued. "That's truly inspiring. You get so many ideas from hearing how someone else approaches your song, or how they might do a song you recorded another way. It makes you constantly rethink and revisit what you're playing and writing, and keeps you fresh."

Linden says he's excited about a pair of upcoming projects, either of which may finally earn him the same kind of recognition and acclaim in the U.S. that he already enjoys in Canada.

"We're working on a live Blackie and The Rodeo Kings disc that I think is going to be maybe the best recorded approximation of our stage show," he says, "and we're also putting together a duet record with several of the finest female vocalists in the world, and recording it everywhere from Nashville to Los Angeles. ... Between those two, which I think will both be coming out in 2011, I think we'll really have some great things available. Then we'll just see what happens."

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