Elvin Bishop was born in Glendale, California and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma when he was ten. There he attended Will Rogers High School and moved to Chicago in 1960 after he won a National Merit Scholarship to the University of Chicago, where he studied physics. He met harmonica player Paul Butterfield in 1963 in the neighborhood of Hyde Park and joined his blues band, with whom he remained for five years. Their third album, The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, takes its name from Bishop's nickname. In 1968 he went solo and formed the Elvin Bishop Group, also standing in for Mike Bloomfield on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper.
Over the years, Bishop has recorded with many blues artists including Clifton Chenier, Little Smokey Smothers, John Lee Hooker,Bo Diddley and toured with B. B. King.
In 1976 Bishop released his most memorable single, "Fooled Around and Fell In Love", which peaked at #3 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, about his love affair with the late Jenny Villarin, the mother of his late daughter Selina Bishop.
In 2000, Bishop's daughter Selina and ex-wife Jennifer Villarin were murdered in California. In 2005, Bishop released his first new CD in five years, Gettin' My Groove Back on Alligator records.
Ed Early is Elvin's "main man" on slide trombone, here's a Trick's Alleyfest Revue bonus featuring Ed and his own band.
