David Albert "Dave" Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, music producer and poet. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s, and has been involved in various side projects and collaborations as well. He has had brief stints as a member of the bands X and the Knitters.
Early life
Alvin grew up in Downey, California. As teenagers, he and his older brother Phil Alvin attended blues, rockabilly, and country venues and listened to the music of T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner, and Lee Allen, among others. Alvin attended Long Beach State University.
Career
In 1979, Alvin and his brother Phil formed the roots rock band the Blasters with fellow Downey residents Bill Bateman and John Bazz. Alvin served as the group's lead guitarist and chief songwriter. Despite a growing fan base in the United States and Europe, Alvin left the band in 1986 and became the lead guitarist of the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band, X. He left X in 1987 to work on a solo project after the group recorded their album See How We Are. Alvin became a member of country-folk band the Knitters and appeared on their 1985 album Poor Little Critter on the Road and their 2005 follow-up, The Modern Sounds of The Knitters.
Podcasts:
Dave Alvin
ALBUMS
- Common Ground released: 2014
- Eleven Eleven released: 2011
- The Best Of The Hightone Years released: 2008
- Live From Austin TX released: 2007
- West of the West released: 2006
- Ashgrove released: 2004
- Public Domain: Songs From the Wild Land released: 2001
- Blackjack David released: 1998
- King of California released: 1994
- Museum of Heart released: 1993
- Blue Blvd released: 1991
- Romeo's Escape released: 1987
- Outtakes in California released:
Dave Alvin
ALBUMS
- Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck released: 2004
- In Their Own Words, Volume 1 released:
Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck
Released 2004- If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might As Well Go to the Bottom)
- Someone to Give My Love To
- I'm Barely Hangin' on to Me
- Shakin' The Blues
- I Did the Right Thing
- She's All I Got
- Touch My Heart
- I'm The Only Hell My Momma Ever Raised
- I Want You to Know
- 11 Months and 29 Days
- Apartment #9
- The Lovin' Mahine
- Motel Time Again
- A Man That's Satisfied
- Take This Job and Shove It
- Old Violin
In Their Own Words, Volume 1
- Intro
- King of the New York Streets
- Intro
- I Heard It Through the Grapevine
- Intro
- I Wanna Be Sedated
- Intro
- I Feel So Good
- Intro
- Just What I Neeeded
- Intro
- At Seventeen
- Intro
- Wichita Lineman
- Intro
- Andersonville
- Intro
- Anna
- Intro
- Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian
- Intro
- I Need Love
- Intro
- Positively 4th Street
- Intro
- No Woman, No Cry
- Intro
- That's the Way Love Goes
- Intro
- Will the Circle Be Unbroken
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Blue Wing
by: Dave AlvinHe had a blue wing tattooed on his shoulder
Well it might have been a blue bird I don't know
But he gets stone drunk and talks about Alaska
The salmon boats and 45 below
He said he got that blue wing up in Walla Walla
Where his cellmate there was Little Willy John
And Willy he was once a great blues singer
And winging Willy wrote him up a song
He said It's dark in here can't see the sky
But I look at this blue wing and I close my eyes
And I fly away beyond these walls
Up above the clouds where the rain don't fall
On a poor man's dreams.
They paroled Blue Wing in August, of 1963
And he moved on picking apples to the town of Wenatchee
Then winter finally caught him in a run down trailer
park
On the South side of Seattle where the days grow gray
and dark
And he drank and he dreamt of visions when the salmon
still ran free
And his fathers, fathers crossed that wild old Bering
And the land belonged to everyone and there were old
songs yet to sing
Now it's narrowed down to a cheap hotel and a tattooed
prison wing
He said It's dark in here can't see the sky
But I look at this blue wing and I close my eyes
And I fly away beyond these walls
Up above the clouds where the rain don't fall
On a poor man's dreams.
Well he drank his way to LA And that's where he died
But no one knew his Christian name and there was no one
there to cry
But I dreamt there was a service A preacher and a cheap
pine box
And half way through the service Blue wing began to
talk
He said It's dark in here can't see the sky
But I look at this blue wing and I close my eyes
And then I fly away beyond these walls
Up above the clouds where the rain don't fall
On a poor man's dreams.
Yeah yeah On a poor man's dreams
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