The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their records, before they eventually emerged as one of the most popular garage rock artists during a second wave of the genre’s revival in the 2010s. The band’s raw blues rock sound draws heavily from Auerbach’s blues influences, including Junior Kimbrough, Howlin’ Wolf, and Robert Johnson.
Friends since childhood, Auerbach and Carney founded the group after dropping out of college. After signing with indie label Alive, they released their debut album, The Big Come Up (2002), which earned them a new deal with Fat Possum Records.
Over the next decade, the Black Keys built an underground fanbase through extensive touring of small clubs, frequent album releases and music festival appearances, and substantial licensing of their songs. Their third album, Rubber Factory (2004), received critical acclaim and boosted the band’s profile, eventually leading to a record deal with major label Nonesuch Records in 2006. After self-producing and recording their first four records in makeshift studios, the duo completed Attack & Release (2008) in a professional studio and hired producer Danger Mouse, a frequent collaborator with the band.
The group’s commercial breakthrough came in 2010 with Brothers, which along with its popular single “Tighten Up”, won three Grammy Awards. Their 2011 follow-up, El Camino, received strong reviews and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, leading to the first arena concert tour of the band’s career, the El Camino Tour. The album and its hit single “Lonely Boy” won three Grammy Awards. In 2014, they released their eighth album, Turn Blue, their first number-one record in the US, Canada, and Australia.
In 2019 Black Keys released their first album in more than five years, Let’s Rock. Ahead of the album’s release was the single “Lo/Hi.” The duo picked up where they left off with Dan Auerbach’s signature bluesy, fuzzy guitar and Patrick Carney’s thumping garage rock drum beat are alive and well. And yes, female background singers.
At the end of December 2020, the 10th Anniversary Remaster Edition of their commercial breakthrough album Brothers was released.
On May 14, 2021 The Black Keys released their tenth studio album, Delta Kream, via Nonesuch Records. The record celebrates the band’s roots, featuring Mississippi hill country blues standards that they have loved since they were teenagers, including songs by R.L Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others. Vinyl variants for Delta Kream include a standard black double vinyl and an exclusive Purple Haze vinyl. Photograph by William Eggleston Artwork by Michael Carney
Delta Kream Track Listing: 1. Crawling Kingsnake (John Lee Hooker / Bernard Besman) 2. Louise (Fred McDowell) 3. Poor Boy a Long Way From Home (Robert Lee Burnside) 4. Stay All Night (David Kimbrough, Jr.) 5. Going Down South (Robert Lee Burnside) 6. Coal Black Mattie (Ranie Burnette) 7. Do the Romp (David Kimbrough, Jr.) 8. Sad Days, Lonely Nights (David Kimbrough, Jr.) 9. Walk with Me (David Kimbrough, Jr.) 10. Mellow Peaches (Joseph Lee Williams) 11. Come on and Go with Me (David Kimbrough, Jr.)
(ref: wiki/TheBlackKeys )
The new 2022 release Dropout Boogie streets May 13. The advance single is “Wild Child.” Dropout Boogie features guests Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top), Greg Cartwright (Reigning Sound), and Angelo Petraglia (Kings Of Leon’s producer and co-writer.) Cartwright and Petraglia are featured on the new groove-based tune “Wild Child.”
The Black Keys’ “Beautiful People (Stay High)” from the new album, Ohio Players is due April 5th, 2024.
From Pitchfork: “The Black Keys have shared the new song “Beautiful People (Stay High).” It’s Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s first new single of 2024, and they wrote it with longtime collaborators Beck and Dan the Automator.
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” will appear on The Black Keys’ new album, Ohio Players, which is due out April 5 via Nonesuch and Warner. The album, the band’s first since 2022’s Dropout Boogie, also features appearances from Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, and more. “We’d never worked harder to make a record,” Dan Auerbach said of Ohio Players in a press statement. “It’s never taken us this long to make an album. We took our time and did it right.” “What we wanted to accomplish with this record was make something that was fun,” Patrick Carney added. “And something that most bands 20 years into their career don’t make, which is an approachable, fun record that is also cool.”
Website: www.theblackkeys.com/
The Band:
Dan Auerbach – guitar, vocals, bass guitar, keyboards (2001–present)
Patrick Carney – drums, percussion (2001–present)
Sacramento’s K-ZAP 93.3 FM plays The Black Keys. All part of 50 years of Rock, Blues and More, 24-7 on our station’s stream at K-ZAP.ORG/LISTEN/
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