CD Review: The Torch - Ronnie Baker Brooks

Being the son of a famous daddy can be both a blessing and a curse. In some ways, it leaves you in the position of being damned if you do and damned if you don't. If you make it, it's only because of your dad; if you don't, then you must be some kind of real loser.

It becomes doubly hard for a person trying to make it in a business where talent matters, but having a leg up is equally important. Unless you manage to distinguish yourself early in your career as being different from your famous parent, there will always be the question of how well you would have done without your papa.

Of course, it's patently unfair to heap expectations on somebody based on what their parents achieved as a performer, but human nature being what it is, comparisons between parent and child are inevitable. If you decide to compound your problem by embarking on a career in the same genre of creativity as your parent, you end up having to prove yourself in ways none of your contemporaries will ever have to face.

What really mystifies me about this attitude is the fact that, in a musical family, there is nothing more natural than a child following in a parent's footsteps. When you're the child of a musician, it's more than likely that your house is going to be filled with people playing music at all hours of the day and night. There's a really good chance you might even end up singing before you talk.

If you are Ronnie Baker Brooks, it means your house is going to be full of your daddy's (Lonnie Brooks) blues musician friends from the Chicago clubs, playing hot licks long into the night. "I grew up among the best of the best… Every time I play, I feel like I've got to do it with the authenticity and passion that I saw in guys like Buddy Guy, Muddy Watters, B. B. King and my father…"

I defy anyone with even only an iota of interest and talent to grow up in that atmosphere and not be interested in playing the blues. If you have any sort of drive, you won't be able to help yourself from starting out on a career in the blues. Anyhow, what ever happened to the tradition of music being an intergenerational family thing? The Carter Family wasn't just a nice name for a band, you know.

But in today's reality, Ronnie Baker Brooks will be Lonnie Brooks' son and judged accordingly. It doesn't matter that he paid his dues by playing in his dad's band for a dozen years before striking out on his own in 1998 with his first disc, Golddigger. Since then, he has worked his butt off touring extensively and recording a second disc in 2001, Take Me Witcha, gradually establishing his own reputation as guitar player and musician.

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and The Unofficial Heroes Of Olympus Companion, both published by Ulysses Press. He has had his work published in print and online all over the world including the German edition of Rolling Stone Magazine and www.Qantara.de. …

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