RIP Gaye Delorme

On my way home from work today June 24th, I heard the sad news of the passing of blues/slide guitar player Gaye Delorme at the age of 64. Apparently he had a heart attack while waiting to do sound check for a show in Calgary the night before.

Gaye Delorme called Edmonton home in the 70's and 80's. When I was 17 and 18 years (1987-88) old I worked in a bar/restaurant called Billy Budd's as a dish pig, they used to have blues bands that played there. As a teenager I was a metal head, loving the heavy metal. Well, I got to meet and hear some awesome blues musicians while working there. One of them musicians being Gaye Delorme. I got to see him play many times at Billy Budd's, solo and with another local blues guy and harmonica player Rusty Reed. When they used to play together, you could guarantee the place would be packed for every night of the three night stand they would do. Those were some awesome rocking shows I got to see and hear, wasn't so bad working them days, other then wishing I could be in the bar watching, but then I was under age for one of them years. What a treat it was to meet Mr. Delorme, to be able to talk with him and listen to him warm up in the back kitchen part. He was a super nice guy and would take the time to talk to us metal heads in the kitchen and tell us stories. Gaye Delorme and not to mention other great musicians like Rusty Reed, Big Miller, Lester Quitzau, Lionel Rault and Amos Garrett really opened up my eyes and ears to blues music. Since them heady teenage years, I have been a fan of blues music. A big thanks goes out to Gaye Delorme and others for helping me see that there was more to music then raising your fist and banging your head. I even have a few bootleg cassettes of Rusty and Gaye Delorme playing at Billy Budd's that I taped with an old ghetto blaster from the kitchen, surprisingly enough, the tapes actually sound pretty damn good.

I hadn't seen Gaye Delorme play in a few years and am now kicking my ass for not having got out and seen him. Just goes to show, that a guy should get out and support and see these guys play when given the chance, cause you never know if you will get the chance again.

RIP Gaye Delorme, you were one of the best guitar players I have ever seen or heard. I still listen to his album "Blue Wave Sessions"(1990) on a regular basis. I will raise a glass this evening and have another listen and be thinking of you Gaye Delorme. You will be missed. Thanks again for opening me up to blues music.