American fingerstyle guitarist
Pat Donohue
|
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Born
| (
1953-04-28
)
April 28, 1953
(age 71)
St. Paul
, Minnesota, U.S.
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Genres
| Folk
,
country
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Occupation(s)
| Musician, songwriter
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Instrument(s)
| Guitar
|
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Years active
| 1973?present
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Labels
| Red House
, Blue Sky
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|
Website
| patdonohue
.com
|
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Musical artist
Patrick Donohue
(born April 28, 1953) is an American
fingerstyle
guitarist born in
St. Paul
, Minnesota. He is a
Grammy
nominated,
National Fingerpicking Guitar Champion
songwriter. Donohue has several albums to his credit and his songs have been recorded by
Chet Atkins
,
Suzy Bogguss
, and
Kenny Rogers
. He has performed on
A Prairie Home Companion
for many years.
Biography
[
edit
]
Donohue grew up in St. Paul but moved to Denver, Colorado in 1971 to study at Regis College (now
Regis University
). After two years at Regis, he transferred to
Marquette University
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
[1]
After his graduation in 1975, he returned to Denver.
Donohue was influenced early in his career by blues guitarists
Robert Johnson
,
Mississippi John Hurt
, and
Blind Blake
. He listened to folk singers
Bob Dylan
,
Steve Goodman
, and
John Prine
.
[1]
In 1985 Donohue's first album,
Manhattan to Memphis
, was released by
Red House
. After another album for Red House, he started his label Bluesky Records.
[2]
In the early 1990s, Donohue became a member of the house band on the radio program
A Prairie Home Companion
.
[2]
[3]
[4]
He and his colleagues in the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band are on-screen throughout much of the film
A Prairie Home Companion
based on the radio show.
[1]
Donohue wrote or co-wrote several of the songs on the soundtrack.
Some of the recordings feature his singer/songwriter side; he has also released instrumental albums.
[5]
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
In 1982 he was runner-up in the National Fingerpicking Championship at the
Walnut Valley Festival
in Winfield, Kansas. During the following year he won the championship.
[6]
In 2008 the
Martin Guitar Company
released a signature model, the OM-30DB Pat Donohue Custom Edition.
[7]
Donohue's songs have been covered by
Kenny Rogers
,
Suzy Bogguss
, and Chet Atkins.
[8]
Guitarist Chet Atkins said, "Pat Donohue is one of the greatest fingerpickers in the world today."
[2]
Donohue wrote a song in praise of Atkins' skill and virtuosity called "Stealin' from Chet". He has recorded a studio version on his
Backroads
album and a live version on
Radio Blues
, a collection of his favorite performances from
A Prairie Home Companion
. Atkins joined him on each version. In the liner notes to the live version, Donohue wrote, "What can I say? The most exciting three minutes of my life. We miss you Chet." (Atkins died a short time before the album was released).
Discography
[
edit
]
- Manhattan to Memphis
(
Red House
, 1985)
- Pat Donohue
(Red House, 1987)
- Life Stories
(BlueSky, 1991)
- Two Hand Band
(Bluesky, 1993)
- Big Blind Bluesy
(Bluesky, 1994)
- Back Roads
(Bluesky, 1996)
- Ye Olde Wooden Guitar Christmas
with
Phil Heywood
and Dan Neale (1997)
- American Guitar
(Bluesky, 2000)
- Two of a Kind: Groovemasters, Vol. 8
with
Mike Dowling
(Solid Air, 2001)
- Profile
(Bluesky, 2005)
- Freewayman
(Bluesky, 2008)
- Nobody's Fault
(Bluesky, 2011)
- Vicksburg Blues
with Butch Thompson (Red House, 2012)
- Blue Yonder
(Bluesky, 2016)
As guest
[
edit
]
- Greg Brown
,
Bathtub Blues
(Red House, 1993)
- Mary Flower
,
Cookin' with Flower
(Bare, 1982)
- Mary Flower,
Rosewood & Steel
(Bluesette, 1996)
- Tim O'Brien
,
Hard Year Blues
(
Flying Fish
, 1984)
- Peter Ostroushko
,
Postcards
(Red House, 2006)
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Artists
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