Jimmy Thackery has never had much trouble being inspired to play music. And that’s a good thing, since Thackery has been out there on the road playing his music night in and night out for over thirty years now and still going strong. Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Washington, D.C., a young Thackery had the opportunity as a teenager to see Buddy Guy perform live in a small church in his hometown. Inspired by Guy’s immense guitar talents, Thackery was hooked. Hooked may have actually been an understatement after Thackery later caught a glimpse of a Jimi Hendrix show in Washington, D.C. one evening. Thackery points to that live performance as the “moment that changed my life”. With his musical path mapped out for him, Jimmy Thackery co-founded the Nighthawks in 1972; a hard-working blues band who recorded over 20 albums and traveled the country extensively during the 1970’s and 80’s. Citing the need to explore different avenues musically and needing a break from the Nighthawks’ exhausting touring schedule, Thackery left the band in 1987 to form the rhythm and blues band the Assassins. The Assassins recorded three albums before band members went their separate ways four years later. Thackery’s next venture was a three-piece blues band called Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers. Signed to Blind Pig Records, the Drivers churned out one terrific blues recordings after another, beginning with their debut effort “Empty Arms Motel” in 1992. The band hooked up with Producer Jim Gaines (Steve Miller, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan) for the Drivers second release, “Trouble Man” in 1994, with Gaines featuring a more powerful guitar sound from Thackery. Blind Pig released “Wild Night Out” the following year, capturing Thackery and the band at their strength, a live setting. The album continues to be heralded by Thackery followers as one of the band’s finest efforts. 1996’s “Drive To Survive” brought Gaines back as Producer, and continued Thackery’s stretch of strong blues-rock orientated albums. Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers followed that effort with “Switching Gears” in 1998, aptly titled due to its inclusion of acoustic blues and zydeco music, thanks in part to a number of special guest appearances from the like of Lonnie Brooks, Joe Louis Walker, and Chubby Carrier. In 2000, Thackery teamed with Bonnie Raitt’s brother David, a former high school bandmate of Thackery’s, to release the duet album “That’s It”. “Sinner Street” followed later that fall, featuring current band member Jimmy Carpenter on saxophone, and further expanding Thackery’s songwriting abilities and musical diversity. At that point in his career, it was evident that every project Jimmy Thackery put his hands on produced success and true quality, and his music was continuing to grow stronger and more diverse with each effort.

Recently signed to the expanding Telarc music label, Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers are now set to release their latest project, entitled “We Got It”. The material on the record is a tribute to Muscle Shoals Recording Studio musical legend Eddie Hinton, offering doses of solid and rhythm and blues, yet still maintaining a bluesy rock sound with terrific guitar work and melodic horn accompaniment. Thackery explains the concept of the Hinton tribute: “My saxophone player (Jimmy Carpenter) knew that I was an Eddie Hinton fan from way back,” Thackery explained. “I thought I owned just about everything he did, but he came up with this collection of demos; an Eddie Hinton retrospective from 1962 through “Extremely Dangerous”. The stuff just blew my socks off. We decided to do a tribute record to Eddie; the result was “We Got It””. While recording the record was an enjoyable experience for Thackery and the band, touring and playing live shows is their bread and butter. “Were always touring,” said Thackery from the middle of a 500-mile road trip across the coast. “I’ve been on the road for 30 years now; it’s all I know. You start to get ancy after a 10 day layoff or so,” he rationalizes. “But making records is a lot of fun for us too.”

I had heard a lot of good things about Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers. The fan base exposed to the band’s rockin’ blues sound continues to grow with every recording and live show. Expecting to hear another standard I-IV-V blues rock album, one listen to “We Got It” and it was evident that this album offered a new and refreshing sound from Thackery and the band. “Very simply, it’s not a rockin’ blues record,” states Thackery when asked to describe the material on “We Got It”. “It’s a soul record; it may take some by surprise. We’re trying to step out of the box a little bit, more in a rhythm and blues vein.” Fans of Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers will truly appreciate “We Got It”, which features eight Hinton covers, three original tracks, and plenty of Thackery guitar wizardry. Right from the opening number “The Search Is Over”, Thackery and the band sound comfortable in their new R&B surroundings, with an inspired horn accompaniment and Thackery’s no-nonsense vocals. The slower, melodic ballads like “It’s All Wrong But It’s All Right” (featuring the soulful backup vocal work of special guests Ernie and Earl Cate) and “Dangerous Highway” each display the band’s talent and musical diversity. Another gem is “Blues Dog Prowl”, an instrumental with a California surf sound and plenty of guitar vibrato. Jimmy Thackery’s tribute to Eddie Hinton, as well as his attitude and approach to absorbing his musical influences, is refreshing. “I’ve been inspired by everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Muddy Waters to Les Paul to Django Reinhardt,” explains Thackery. “I’ve really been influenced by everyone I’ve ever heard. You’re always listening an learning.” It’s great to hear a veteran player like Thackery admit that.

Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers will headline the 3rd Annual “Black-eyed and Blues Festival” in Hartford’s Bushnell Park on Thursday evening, June 6th. The event, sponsored by Black Eyed Sally’s, begins at 5:00pm and is free. Other bands featured on this evening of blues music include the Johnnie Marshall Blues Band, Shirley King, D.W. Armstrong & the Rent Party Band, and the Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings. Expect to hear the new material from “We Got It”, as well as plenty of selections from all of their previous efforts, Thackery promises. Even at this stage in his career, Jimmy Thackery is still inspired to play music. “I still enjoy playing every night,” says Thackery. “I’ve never had much trouble getting inspired; it just seems to happen. When it doesn’t, I guess I’ll just go and work at McDonald’s or something,” he joked. After another complete listen of “We Got It”, I’ve concluded that you’ll have to get your fast food from someone else, because Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers will continue to be heard from for a long time to come. Contact Black Eyed Sally’s at (860) 278-7427 or check out the Black Eyed Sally’s web site (www.blackeyedsallys.com) for more information. Enjoy some live blues, BBQ and Cajun cooking, and ice cold beer; the way Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers’ music was meant to be heard. Do yourself a favor and be sure to catch this show.