Guitar Shorty - "Trying To Find My Way Back" is out and trending

At 84, Guitar Shorty is moving his music into the future with “Trying To Find My Way Back” an album that is at turns funky, gritty, modern and soulfully poignant.

This new record is produced by Jerry Williams Jr., AKA Swamp Dogg who was recently featured in Rolling Stone for his Bon Iver helmed, album 'Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune' that featured Guitar Shorty. Kindred spirit Larry “MoogStar” Clemon, from the legendary funk group Cameo was brought into the mix and a holy alliance was formed. Featuring 16 original tunes penned by Shorty, Swamp Dogg, and MoogStar. The resulting sound is like no other Guitar Shorty album up to this point. Exclusive downloads available below. 

6 things you want to know about Guitar Shorty:

Inspired by Guitar Slim, David Kearney honed his style in the Tampa Bay area at age of 16, where he earned the nickname “Guitar Shorty”, as the featured guitarist in The Walter Johnson band.

Guitar Shorty recorded his first single in 1957 (“You Don't Treat Me Right”), for the legendary Cobra label at the behest of blues legend Willie Dixon after Dixon caught his act.

In addition to his residency at the famed Dew Drop Inn with his own band, Shorty, has played alongside Sam Cooke Ray Charles T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner and Little Richard just to name a few.

Legend has it that the young Jimi Hendrix was so enamored with Shorty's playing, that he often went AWOL from his army base to catch him perform. Shorty let Hendrix borrow one of his wah-wah pedals and the rest is, as they say, history.

During his first tour of the UK in 1991 he recorded the album “My Way, Or The Highway” which won him the prestigious W.C. Handy award (A Grammy Award).

His 2 highest charting albums, are 2004's “Watch Your Back” and his 2006 album “We the People.” Both charted on the Billboard Top Blues Albums at eleven and twelve, respectively.