Big Daddy Kinsey (March 18, 1927 — April 3, 2001) was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey was born in Pleasant Grove, Minnesota. He was a slide guitarist and harp blower with roots in both the Mississippi Delta and post-war Chicago Blues styles.
He worked with local bands only long enough for his sons to mature into top-flight musicians, and in 1984, the family act, The Kinsey Report, became one of the hottest attractions in contemporary blues. Big Daddy Kinsey's material ranged from deep blues in the Muddy Waters vein to hard-rocking blues with touches of funk and reggae, courtesy of sons Donald and Ralph. In the early 1990s Kinsey released one of the most successful albums of his career, I Am the Blues which featured contributions from Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Sugar Blue and Pinetop Perkins. The family group recorded and toured until April 2001, when Big Daddy succumbed to cancer, at the age of 74.
The Kinsey Report consists of Donald Kinsey (b.May 12, 1953, Gary, IN), (vocal, guitar); Ralph "Woody" Kinsey, (drums); Kenneth Kinsey, (bass); Ronald Prince, (guitar). Solidly based in the blues as a result of lifelong training in The Big Daddy Kinsey household, The Kinsey scions are also versed in a broad range of music.
The older brothers Donald and Ralph had an early blues-rock trio (White Lightnin') in the mid-'70s, long before they regrouped as The Kinsey Report in 1984 and began to launch new excursions into rock. Donald also recorded and toured with Albert King and with Bob Marley, and the influence of those giants (as well as that of Big Daddy Kinsey, naturally) show through in the music of The Kinsey Report.
The band expertly covers all the bases from Chicago blues through reggae, rock, funk, and soul, and their recordings are also distinguished by the songwriting talents and self-contained production approach of The Kinseys.
Sadly, I could not find any video of Big Daddy Kinsey.
