About the Song:
Blues singer/songwriter and guitarist Kevin Roosevelt Moore (stage name “Keb’ Mo’”) was born in South Los Angeles, California, on October 3, 1951. He began his musical career playing steel drums in a calypso band before playing blues in various backup bands in the ‘70s and ‘80s. He released his first album, Rainmaker, in 1980 but it was fourteen more years before he put out a follow-up. It was at that point that his career as a solo artist really took off.
To date, he has won four Grammys for Best Contemporary Blues Album and a Grammy for Best American Album. The latter award was for his 2019 album, Oklahoma, which featured the track “This Is My Home.” The song “considers the immigrant experience” AM by telling “a trio of stories about people searching for a better life.” AM
He said, Americans need “a reminder that…the longest most of us have been here is 400 years…So we’re all immigrants.” AM “When people start getting down on immigrants, it makes me want to tell a story about Americans who I really respect.” AM The song was inspired by Lupe, his housekeeper in L.A., and the people she introduced him to as well as Mohammed, an Iranian taxi driver who was very kind to Keb’ Mo’ when he didn’t have his wallet.
He explained that he opted for a stripped-down arrangement featuring just steel guitar, accordion, and backing vocals from Jack Velasquez. He said, “the point was to not overshadow the story.” AM He also said, “I wanted the guitar to sound a little more exotic, more like world music, tribal, just different, like something from a foreign land.” AM
Resources:
Related Links:
First posted 3/13/2025.
|
