Bobby Whitlock, best known as a member of Derick & The Dominos, is touring this fall, reprising some of the iconic songs he’s performed throughout his career. (Photo: Bobby Whitlock)
Whitlock, who plays piano and guitar, will be joined by his equally talented wife CoCo Carmel on the aptly titled
“The Just Us Tour 2015.”
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Whitlock has appeared on some of Rock and Roll’s most celebrated albums, including George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and The Rolling Stones Exile On Main Street.
BOBBY WHITLOCK, COCO CARMEL TOUR DATES, GUEST GUITARISTS Sept. 11 Memphis, TN The Warehouse w/ Josh Roberts Sept. 12 Nashville, TN The City Winery w/ Kelvin Holly Sept. 15 Decatur, GA Eddie’s Attic w/ Moses Mo (of Mother’s Finest) Sept. 19 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club w/ Godfrey Townsend Sept. 20 Sellersville, PA Sellerville Theater w/ Luke Johnson Sept. 22 Fall River, MA Narrows Center For The Arts, Guitarist TBA Sept. 23 Somerville, MA Johnny D’s w/ Andy Argondizza Sept. 26 Cleveland, OH The Beachland Ballroom w/ Angelo Santelli Sept. 27 Rochester, NY The Lovin’ Cup w/ Bob Wagner Sept. 29 Ferndale, MI The Magic Bag w/ Angelo Santelli Oct. 1 Berwyn, IL Fitzgerald’s w/ Nicolas Tremulis
On the upcoming tour, the duo has handpicked a different local guitarist to perform with them at each show, beginning Sept. 11 in Nashville.
The “Just Us” tour set list has been culled from both Bobby’s and CoCo’s respective careers.
Derek And The Dominos songs written or co-written by Whitlock from the band’s landmark album Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs will include “Bell Bottom Blues,” “Tell The Truth,” “Keep On Growing,” “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad” and “I Looked Away” among others.
They will also play tracks from their current album Carnival, such as “John The Revelator,” “Devil Blues,” “Nobody Knows” and “River of Life”) in addition to new material.
Bobby was just 16 when Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn signed him to the Stax Hip label. From there, he left for the west coast in 1969, when Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett asked him to be the first “friend” in their new group.
This led to his fortuitous meeting with another young blues prodigy, Eric Clapton, who was a guest “friend” during their European tour. He also met Harrison, who joined the tour for a few days.
Soon after, Harrison invited Whitlock to perform on his landmark three-album set All Things Must Pass.
During those sessions, Whitlock and Clapton started to write songs together, some of which ended up on Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs, which Whitlock produced.
Whitlock’s songwriting contributions on the historic 1970 album included “Bell Bottom Blues,” “Keep On Growing,” “I Looked Away,” “Tell The Truth,” “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad,” “Thorn Tree In The Garden” and “Any Day.”
In addition to writing “Roll It Over” with Clapton for Clapton’s 1973 live album Rainbow Concert, he’s had songs covered by Ray Charles (“Slip Away”), George Jones (“Someone You Used To Know),” and Tom Jones (“This Time”).
Carmel has a rich musical career. She’s performed with Dr. John, Phoebe Snow, Jon Bon Jovi, Albert Lee and Billy Preston, to name a few.
She has also produced and co-produced several albums, including her own release First Fruit, which was originally produced by former husband Bramlett, and unearthed 20 years after his passing. She engineers and produces all of her work with Whitlock, including 2013’s Carnival.
For the past fourteen years, Bobby Whitlock and CoCo Carmel have been making music and travelling the world. “The Just Us 2015 Tour” is an evening of incredible music that comes with a side order of rock history.
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