Barry Goldberg, a veteran Chicago-born blues keyboardist who had a long and wide-ranging career as a member of multiple bands, session musician, songwriter and producer, has passed away. Goldberg died in hospice care on Wednesday, January 22, after a 10-year battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 83.
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Barry collaborated with an impressive list of well-known artists during the course of his career, including Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Steve Miller, Charlie Musselwhite, Gram Parsons, Mitch Ryder, the Ramones, and many others.
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As a teenager, Goldberg befriended guitarist Bloomfield and the two frequented Chicago blues clubs. Goldberg sometimes would sit in with such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin’ Wolf.
Barry also was one of the musicians, along with members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Al Kooper, who backed Dylan at his historic 1965 performance at the Newport Folk Festival, when Bob “went electric.”
Goldberg’s Late-1960s Recording Career
Also in 1965, Goldberg briefly played in a band with Steve Miller before Miller relocated to San Francisco.
As a session musician, Barry played organ on Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels’ 1966 hit “Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly.” That same year, he released an album titled Blowing My Mind with his own group, The Barry Goldberg Blues Band. The band also featured Musselwhite on harmonica and Harvey Mandel on guitar.
In 1967, Goldberg formed The Electric Flag with Bloomfield, after Bloomfield left the Butterfield Blues Band. The group also featured drummer Buddy Miles, later of Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys.
Barry played on the acclaimed 1968 album Super Session with Bloomfield and Kooper.
In 1969, Goldberg and Bloomfield teamed up for a collaborative album called Two Jews Blues. Duane Allman contributed guitar to the project.
Goldberg During the 1970s
In 1974, Goldberg released a self-titled album that was co-produced by Dylan and Atlantic Records legend Jerry Wexler. This marked the only time Dylan produced an album by an artist other than himself.
The Barry Goldberg album featured the song “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” which Goldberg co-wrote with Gerry Goffin. Gladys Knight and the Pips also recorded the tune, and their version peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.
Another Goldberg-Goffin co-write, “It’s Not the Spotlight,” was recorded by Rod Stewart for his hit 1975 album Atlantic Crossing.
Barry’s session work during the 1970s included an appearance on Leonard Cohen’s 1977 album Death of a Ladies’ Man.
Goldberg During the 1980s
In 1980, Goldberg played keyboards on the Ramones’ End of the Century album.
In 1989, Barry produced a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” that Dylan recorded for the film Flashback. He also served as music supervisor for the movie.
Goldberg’s Later Career
In the 2010s, Goldberg teamed up with Stephen Stills and Kenny Wayne Shepherd to form the blues-rock band The Rides. The group released two albums, Can’t Get Enough (2013) and Pierced Arrow (2016), both of which topped the Billboard Blues Albums chart.
During the last couple of decades, Goldberg also played with Chicago Blues Reunion. The musical collective also featured Musselwhite, Mandel, Nick Gravenites, Jimmy Vivino, and others.
In addition, Barry was heavily featured in the 2013 film Born in Chicago, a documentary about the Chicago blues scene.
Goldberg is survived by his wife of 53 years, Gail, and their son, Aram. Barry’s family encourages, in lieu of sending flowers, that people make donations in his name to the wildlife conservation charity the BEAR League via SaveBears.org.
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