Little Victor-You Don't Know My Mind TV3 - Video
PUBLISHED:  Aug 15, 2013
DESCRIPTION:
Little Victor is the King of Grit and the antithesis of meaningless virtuosity. His rich, quirky and inspired downhome blues became well-known to blues audiences through his work with the legendary Louisiana Red on the highly celebrated Back To The Black Bayou on Ruf Records. This 2009 album introduced the world to the powerful musical chemistry between Louisiana Red and Little Victor as his producer/protégé/bandleader. The record featured guests including Kim Wilson, Bob Corritore and David Maxwell and won prestigious prizes like the Grand Prix Du Disque (the French equivalent of the Grammy), the renowned Record Critics' Award of Germany (the German equivalent of the Grand Prix Du Disque), numerous Best Album nods in different countries and a pair of nominations at the 31st Blues Music Awards (the blues Grammys). The album earned glowing reviews on three continents, both in blues publications and in important mainstream music magazines such as Rolling Stone and Down Beat. Little Victor has also produced and played on records by David Evans, Sophie Kay, Hubert Sumlin, RL Burnside, Robert Belfour and many more. His work was even noticed by Mojo magazine.

A second helping of that winning combination, Memphis Mojo, took listeners from the swamp a little up ways up the river to Memphis (where the album was recorded) and provided Ruf Records with the perfect follow-up to Back To The Black Bayou. Before releasing Memphis Mojo, Little Victor released an excellent album called Boogie All Night. Recorded in Phoenix, Arizona under the auspices of his friend Bob Corritore. His live performances are often described as "juke joint cabaret." Indeed, LV can bring to mind John Lee Hooker, Slim Harpo, Pee Wee Herman, Muddy Waters, Peter Sellers, RL Burnside, Salvador Dali, Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Reed and Screaming Jay Hawkins all rolled into one.

Little Victor leads a wanderers' life on both sides of the pond. Lots of lucky people have seen him perform in Memphis, Paris, Austin, London, Hollywood, Oslo, Phoenix, Madrid, Lisbon, Las Vegas, Helsinki, Los Angeles, Milan, Berlin, New Orleans, Riga, Barcelona, Stockholm, San Antonio and Amsterdam. He has played and lived in many different places but doesn't really have any geographical attachment. He's an itinerant musician, an international artist and a man of the world. Victor began singing in 1981 at the tender age of 14 -- hence the name "Little" Victor. His first band mostly featured songs from the Sun Records vaults. At 16, he picked up the blues harmonica and started to wail in the style of Jimmy Reed and Junior Parker.

He learned the real blues from playing with real bluesmen in Memphis, Tennessee when he was still a young man.He played on Beale Street six days a week with Uncle Ben Perry, the "King of Handy Park." Beale Street wasn't yet the tourist trap it is today. This is why Little Victor is sometimes billed as The Beale Street Blues Bopper. He also learned from Herman "Alabama" Alexander, Ben Wilson and Wilroy Sanders. Most of them were irascible characters and few other musicians wanted to play with them. They used distorted sounds, didn't make the "correct" changes and always seemed to be grouchy to their accompanists. Victor didn't mind. He knew this was the real stuff, the music that won't be found in any tablature books and can't be learned by sitting at home listening to records. Drifting down river to North Mississippi, Victor jammed in a variety of deep blues guitar tunings in juke joints with RL Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Junior Kimbrough, Frank Frost, Willie Foster and a host of other backwater bluesmen. He soaked up the blues feeling of these great men and women, applying it to his own repertoire and style.

Little Victor has shared the bill and the stage with The Jelly Roll Kings, Snooky Pryor, Pinetop Perkins, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Billy Boy Arnold, The Black Keys, James Harman, T-Model Ford, Henry Gray, The Mannish Boys, Lazy Lester and many more. He has played with RL Burnside, Robert "Wolfman" Belfour, The Hound Dog Taylor Tribute Band, Big Joe Louis, Little George Sueref and Tav Falco's Panther Burns, David Evans, Sophie Kay and many more- In 2004, he started working regularly with Louisiana Red, his childhood idol. Their very successful association sadly ended when Red passed away in February 2012. But Victor, who never stopped performing and recording on his own, is keeping up the good work. The Swamp-Tonk sounds of Little Victor are known from the Rio Grande to the Danube and back again. You better watch your happy home, friends... Little Victor is coming to your town!

-Vincent Abbate (ROCKS Magazine)
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