Eli Hudnall Cook was born in Nelson County, Virginia on April 24, 1986. He grew up in a world of "old cars, chain-saws, and guitars" in a Blue Ridge Mountain
hollow where radio still reigned, and telephones and television failed. Eli began playing Gospel at revivals when he was 15, and still never forgets to "take you to
church" at some moment in his performance today.
Eli describes his music as "blue, blue, Blues." Phil Reser, of BluesWax describes Eli as "a young gun with an old soul who storms through slide guitar romps, tackling the Blues, and sounding like his generation's Son House or Elmore James. He's not just playing the same licks as his mentors, but adding his signature sound and style to the art of the Blues."
However you describe Eli's music, it has ushered him onto many a wonderful stage: He frequently opens for B.B. King, has shared the spotlight with Johnny Winter, Shemekia Copeland, and Robert Cray, and has performed on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Today, Eli tours nationally and his recordings are played on radio stations all over the world. 'Moonshine Mojo', his debut album recorded in 2004, has become a collector's item featuring renditions of classic Blues hits like Muddy Waters' "Mannish Boy," and John Lee Hooker's "Huckle Up". Miss Blue'es Child, recorded in 2005, was picked up by New York's Valley Entertainment on their Sledgehammer Blues Label in 2007 and proceeded to take the Old School Blues world by storm, earning a feature article in Guitar Player Magazine. 'ElectricHolyFireWater', a collection of "heavy Blues metal." was recorded in 2007 and is ranked as one of the best 100 electric guitar recordings of the year by New York's Axecalibre, and one of the best 100 electric guitar albums of the last decade by La 7e Corde, France. 'Static in the Blood', 2009, is a lush R&B studio recording with roots deep in gospel and blues. Citing influences as diverse and as Kid Rock and Jay Z, Eli continued to introduce the Blues to the listener of the new century. 'Ace, Jack, & King' 2011, Elil's newest release, covers 2 masterpieces of blues by Nehemia 'Skip' James, and includes 8 new original tunes.
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