Joe Bonamassa always brings the fire live, but when you add in the soulful voice of Joanne Shaw Taylor, you’ve really got a killer combo! The blues guitar legend sat in with Taylor’s band on a mesmerizing rendition of the 1930s standard “Summertime,” scoring a 3.1 million view viral vid in the process. The duo delivered a slow burn cut of the George Gershwin classic, opened by a melodic solo from Taylor and then driven by her smoky, intense vocals.
A number of fans clicked to hear Bonamassa work his six-string magic but came away fans of Taylor. Talk about a voice with a tonne of feeling! Bonamassa at first tastefully weaved licks in and out between Taylor’s vocals. But of course, it wouldn’t be a Bonamassa feature if he didn’t scorch the fretboard, and fans got exactly what they came to hear at 3:18 as the New York bluesman wrung a whole lotta feeling out of his Les Paul. The Music Man always has time for a blues sesh, and this collab is not one to sleep on!
Taylor uploaded the collab to her YouTube channel, where it swiftly caught the algorithm and became her most popular video. Fans were digging the groove the pair laid out and added comments such as “Joanne is on fire here, and Joe is just too crisp accompanying. Genuine masterpiece” and “Wow! Clicked on this for Joe B. However, Joanne Shaw Taylor, I’m your new number ONE fan! What a fantastic voice!”
The collab was cut from Taylor’s US debut performance, which she delivered on January 20, 2022, in Franklin, Tennessee. The gig was subsequently released as her album Blues From the Heart Live. Taylor hit a major purple patch that night, as her second most popular performance on YouTube is also from the same show. Taylor’s cut of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” is a Zeppelin-esque blues number that features plenty of aching vocals, not to mention a ripping guitar solo at the four-minute mark.
George Gershwin released “Summertime” in 1935 as an aria for his opera Porgy and Bess. The Music Man readers might be interested to know that the song soon became a celebrated jazz standard. It is considered by critics to be not only Gershwin’s finest hour but also one of the greatest songs in musical theater. Gershwin, an American composer whose family originated from Eastern Europe, drew inspiration from jazz and the African American folk music tradition of the era when writing “Summertime.”