Joey Gilmore

Joey Gilmore
Remembering The BluesMan
June 4, 1944 – July 29, 2024

By; Jeff Prine  |  Photo: Jay Skolnick

When it comes to the Blues in South Florida Joey Gilmore is it! He is everything that embodies the Blues. My friendship with Joey goes back to the summer of 1998 . I moved to South Florida with my family that year and after settling in I made the rounds of all the South Florida Clubs and when I heard Joey Gilmore I knew I found a special Artist who was everything I heard on all the Three Kings recordings and here right in front of me was Joey Gilmore. I introduced myself and he was as gracious as he appeared on stage. No ego, just a great person who if you met him on the street you wouldn’t know that he was such a gifted artist. When he sang , or played his Gibson 335 all bets where off , his voice filled the room and demanded your attention , and you listened, and the whole crowd would listen and so it was I met someone who over the years I got to share the stage with and learn his passion for the music he played. I remember our first show together in July 1992. The Rock- N-Blues Hour, a pilot for a TV show hosted by Mike Cotton and some people from WXEL. It featured Joeys Band , my band and The Dave Camp Band. We all had two songs to play and at the end of the show we all played together. In between each song Mike Cotton would interview each artist . They had a live camera crew, a great sound system and a live audience and I must say the Music was off the charts! You can see it on you tube . As far as I was concerned the show was a success and caught the ear of Philip Michael Thomas who was so impressed with Joey that he invited us down to Miami to his theatre to perform. We all had a great time playing together. Joey would travel allot in those days and stayed in touch . We crossed paths again with South Floridas Juanita Dixon for a Ft.Lauderdale Blues Festival show featuring both of these great Blues Artist and again for the Ft. Pierce Sunday concerts series. These shows were great performances by both artist. Joey would walk out in the Crowd with his Gibson Guitar and Juanita would sing from the stage in a soulful exchange answering Joeys tasty guitar licks! As time went on Joey , Juanita and my group worked at a great establishment on the Beach on Ft . Lauderdale beach called Evangeline’s where we made a home for us for three years entertaining everyone and at times it was standing room only.

Joey’s History

Gilmore was born in Ocala, Florida, on June 4, 1944. Self-taught on the guitar at an early age, from watching a local minister-cum-barber playing his own flat-bodied guitar, Gilmore initially headed a band of youths who appeared in local clubs long before they were legally able to enter such establishments.

In the 1960s, Gilmore relocated to South Florida, and he became a popular local attraction which led to him accompanying many touring blues, R&B and soul musicians. He recorded a small number of tracks in the 1970s, including his debut single “Somebody Done Took My Baby And Gone” / “Do It To Me One More Time” (1971). He released several EPs at that time, as well as the Joey Gilmore album (1977), which was re-released in 2012. His next album was So Good to be Bad (1989), released by Pandisc Records. The album reached number 80 on the US Billboard R&B album chart. It took until the mid 1990s before Gilmore began recording more frequently, and he appeared at numerous blues, jazz and soul festivals which included dates in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Mississippi Valley, Montreux, Riverwalk, and in Taiwan. In 2012 he played at the Daytona Blues Festival.

Gilmore in 2018
In 2006, Gilmore and his backing band took part in the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, where he won the ‘Best Band’ section.

Among Gilmore’s sidemen in the mid-2000s were Regi Oliver (saxophone/keyboard), George Caldwell (bass) and Dave Wooten (drums).

In 2008, Gilmore was awarded a Blewzzy Award for the ‘best song’, “Blues All Over You”. In the same year he released Bluesman, on Emancipation Media, and appeared at the Poconos Blues Festival. In 2009, Gilmore performed at the Taichung Jazz Festival, and the Briggs Farm Blues Festival. In 2013, Gilmore undertook various functions backed by the Sean Carney Band.

In 2015, Gilmore was honored with a Latin World Talent Lifetime Achievement Award. He continued to regularly play throughout his native Florida, including an appearance at the Pompano Beach Seafood Festival, and beyond. His album, Brandon’s Blues, was self-released by Gilmore in 2015.

Check out next month’s issue for more stories and interviews from Joey’s friends and loved ones.

Joey Gilmore passed in Florida on July 29, 2024, at the age of 80.