Live Music - Studebaker John

Studebaker John—Legendary Bluesman

Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and  started playing harmonica at age 7.  Under the spell of music he heard  on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famed blues melting pot, Grimaldi began  performing as Studebaker John and the Hawks in the ‘70s.  The band referenced the Studebaker Hawk, a car Grimaldi still owns today, and was  also intended as a tribute to his friend, J.B. Hutto and the Hawks.  John began playing guitar after a life-changing experience of seeing  Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers perform. “…Hound Dog started  playing, hitting notes that sent chills up and down my spine. He was  versatile and powerful and would play rhythm as well as leads. I left  there knowing what I wanted to do. I had to play slide guitar.”