Slash and The Cars’ Elliot Easton are among many stars who will take part in a Los Angeles tribute concert honoring late Chicago blues great Barry Goldberg. The show, dubbed “Keep On Keeping On: For the Love of Barry,” will be held April 2 at The Mint.
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Other well-known music artists set to appear at the event include popular blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, legendary session drummer Jim Keltner, longtime Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus, acclaimed backing singer and songwriter Marcy Levy, and veteran Americana singer/songwriter Carla Olson.
The concert’s house band has been dubbed the Barry Goldberg Reunion. It will feature guitarist Jimmy Vivino, keyboardist Teddy Andreadis, drummer Tony Braunagel, and others.
Goldberg died on January 22 at age 83 after a 10-year battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The concert will raise money to help Barry’s family pay for his costly medical bills.
A post on The Mint’s social media pages describes the concert as “more than a tribute … it’s a testament to a true icon.”
Meanwhile, Easton wrote on his own socials about the show, “We all loved Barry so much. If you’re in LA, come on down!”
About Barry Goldberg
The Chicago-born Goldberg was an accomplished blues keyboardist. He had a long and wide-ranging career as a member of multiple bands, session musician, songwriter, and producer.
Barry collaborated with an impressive list of well-known artists during the course of his career. Musicians he worked with included Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Steve Miller, Charlie Musselwhite, Gram Parsons, Mitch Ryder, the Ramones, and many others.
As a teenager, Goldberg sometimes would sit in with such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin’ Wolf.
Barry was one of the musicians, along with members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Al Kooper, who backed Dylan at his historic “electric” performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
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.”
In 1967, Goldberg formed The Electric Flag with Bloomfield after Bloomfield left the Paul 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 that was produced by Dylan.
In the early 1970s, Goldberg co-wrote the song “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination” with Gerry Goffin. Gladys Knight and the Pips’ version of the tune 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.
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).
Additional Fundraiser for Goldberg’s Family
Besides the concert, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise additional money to help Goldberg’s family. Funds raised by the initiative will help Barry’s widow, Gail, pay for his funeral and outstanding medical bills, as well as for her own living and medical expenses.
Visit GoFundMe.com for more information and to donate.
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