TAKE TWO: BOZ SCAGGS

Boz Scaggs is a consummate performer who throughout his long career has created music that features a unique blend of the sounds he grew-up listening to; rock, soul, blues and jazz. His amazing skills as a guitarist, singer and songwriter has made him one of the most respected artists still working today.

He was born William Scaggs in Canton, Ohio in 1944 but lived in several places throughout the country due to his father's work. He ended up in Texas at the age of twelve and learned to play guitar around this time. While here, Scaggs got the nickname "Bosley" from a friend which was later shorten to "Boz". He met fellow aspiring musician, Steve Miller while attending middle school in Dallas and they would perform together in various blues bands all the way through to college. Scaggs decided to drop out of school and took off to Europe to pursue music full time.

He performed with several bands before landing in Sweden and recording his first solo album, simply called, "Boz" in 1965. The album didn't get much attention and Scaggs decided to head back to America. He ended up in San Francisco and would work with Steve Miller again (who at this time had his own blues-rock outfit called The Steve Miller Band) and played guitar on his first two albums. Scaggs managed to get another record deal with Atlantic and released his second solo album, "Boz Scaggs" in 1969. Once again, this record received very modest attention. He moved over to Columbia Records and it wasn't until his seventh album that Scaggs finally found long-overdue commercial success.

"Silk Degrees" was released in 1976 and with the help of his solid session band (that would later become members of the pop-rock group, Toto) there were four hit singles with "Lowdown" reaching the top five on the pop, r&b and dance chart. Scaggs would win a Grammy for Best R&B Song (for "Lowdown") and the album sold over five million copies in the U.S. This album would be the highlight of his career although he would have other hit singles later including "Breakdown Dead Ahead", "Jojo" and "Look What You've Done To Me" from the "Urban Cowboy" soundtrack.

Boz Scaggs has spent most of his time recently on the road where he has been warmly received. His latest recording was released last year entitled, "Memphis" that features a collection of mostly covers of soul and blues tunes that have inspired the musician.

Enjoy two of my favorite songs from Mr. Scaggs:

"Miss Sun" - Boz Scaggs (1980)

"Look What You've Done To Me" - Boz Scaggs (1980)