Carnival of Soul

For an ultimate blues tour, go to four U.S. cities, Savoy Brown’s Kim Simmonds advises.

Chicago is an essential stop, “because it’s the center of modern urban blues, and it was the style that convinced me what I was to do the rest of my life,” says Simmonds, who founded the British blues group in the mid-1960s and is still leading the band with his voice, songwriting and masterful electric guitar playing. City Night, Savoy Brown’s most recent album, was released in June.

Simmonds’ other essential stops on a blue tour are New Orleans, Los Angeles and Kansas City.

“New Orleans is where the music I love was born with Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong and many, many more,” he explains. “Los Angeles was a super-influential city for blues and rock ‘n’ roll, especially in the 1950s, and often gets forgotten in that regard.  

“It also is a city where, in the 60s, I saw some of my favorite artists — Albert Collins and Sarah Vaughn, for instance — playing in small clubs. Kansas City is essential for the same reason — a city with a great jazz and blues heritage that is slightly off the beaten path. The music museum there reminds us.”

Simmonds grew up in Newbridge, Wales, about 20 miles north of Cardiff. 

“It was a coal mining town in my childhood days, and many of my family were coal miners, including my brother,” he says. “Nowadays, the mines have gone.  It’s still the same lovely town minus the coal miners. Wales was a place that defined me and has stayed with me my whole life.  I think Newbridge has my soul still there, and that comes out through the guitar.”

London was “a beautiful place” where Simmonds lived in the 1960s.  “I was part of the swinging ’60s,” he recalls. “What an inspiring time. South London gave my music edge.”

Various places in the USA also influenced Simmonds and his music. In 1980, he moved to the USA. 

“Ohio gave me a different outlook on life, and I relearned guitar playing amongst the cornfields,” he says. “Los Angeles really made an impression on me, especially in the ‘60s when it was slightly worn down.  Pure rock-star stuff there. The music got harder and more rock.”

For the past 27 years, Simmonds has lived in a most unlikely place for a blues-rock star: Oswego, New York. It’s a small city, home to a state college, about 40 miles north of Syracuse on Lake Ontario. It’s known for very cold winters and is a long way — a five-hour drive — from New York City.

“Upstate New York gave me my new life and helped me escape the nuttiness of life,” Simmonds says. “I finally became the family man I always wanted to be when I met Debbie, my wife. I also reconnected with my blues roots.”

But what about those winters?

“Yes, it is snowy in wintertime — like Alaska — but surprisingly warm because of the good humidity generated via Lake Ontario,” he says. “Winter goes on forever, but love conquers all. I fell in love with my wife who hails from the area, and we’ve been happily married for 28 years.”

Simmons recalls his first trip to the USA. 

“I remember seeing the New York City skyline from the plane window as we first flew in.  It was a blinding moment I’ll never forget. I remember so much you’ll have to read my autobiography I’m currently writing.”

He has three favorite countries.

“I like America — optimistic and energetic — and I have German blood and feel connected to Germany through my grandfather. Nothing beats life in the British Isle, though I remember it through 1950s eyes.”