BURTON GAAR

Artist Biography by Linda Seida in allmusic 

Mighty Long Road Cajun bass player and singer Burton Gaar grew up listening to the sounds of great blues artists such as electric guitarist B.B. King and vocalist Bobby "Blue" Bland. Before he hit his teen years, he decided he wanted to become a musician and play the blues, too. Within a couple of years, as the '50s were drawing to a close, he got his chance when he started working in his hometown of Baton Rouge, alongside blues legend Slim Harpo. Frequently, they worked the city's Glass Hat Club. Gaar also played for a short time with the Boogie Kings. During the '60s, Gaar went on to form a band of his own and they found work playing backup for visiting artists to Baton Rouge, a list that included zydeco artist Rockin' Sidney and soulful singer Percy Sledge. Gaar drew such inspiration from Rockin' Sidney that in the future he would dedicate one of his albums, Mighty Long Road, to the zydeco musician. Despite the fact that Gaar made music for almost four decades, he didn't record a solo album of his own until 1996, when the Cajun-influenced Still Singing the Blues was issued with the Mudcats. The following year in Holland, he recorded One Hundred Pounds of Trouble, an album that performed well internationally. He is one of the musicians featured in the book Blues: Keeping the Faith by Keith Shadwick.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana's Burton Gaar broke into the music industry playing bass for Blues great Slim Harpo and has never looked back. The year was 1959, and Gaar was only 16-years-old. He has gone on to play in R&B band the Boogie Kings, as well as alongside the great Percy Sledge and Zydeco kingpin Rockin' Sydney Simien. Burton Gaar has also fronted his own bands, as well as recorded solo records - his debut being 1995's Still Singing The Blues. Despite the fact that Gaar made music for almost four decades, he has 450 songs in his catalog (he has written in excess of 2000 songs during his musical career), and started recording his songs in the mid 1970's, he didn't record a solo album of his own until 1991, when the Louisiana Cajun influenced "Still Singing the Blues" was issued with his brother John Gaar on guitar and the Mud Kats. The power and honesty of his unmistakable voice, combined with the meaningful lyric content of his songs, powerful grooves, and clever arrangements, authenticates Gaar's unique brand of Louisiana blues. In 2000 Black & Tan put out "One Hundred Pounds Of Trouble" and two further acclaimed LPs followed until Gaar's 2011 death.