Nick Gravenites was a blues singer and guitarist who sang with the Electric Flag and wrote music for Janis Joplin (1943–1970).
- Died: September 18, 2024 (Who else died on September 18?)
- Details of death: Died after a period of declining health at the age of 85.
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Nick Gravenites’ legacy
Gravenites started playing the blues while he was attending the University of Chicago, where he immersed himself in the city’s storied blues scene. He met Paul Butterfield, who was launching his own Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and began performing with him. Though Gravenites wasn’t with Butterfield’s band for long, he did write their song “Born in Chicago,” which went on to become a standard of the genre.
In 1967, Gravenites co-founded the Electric Flag with fellow blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield. Though short-lived – they disbanded in less than two years – the Electric Flag was notable, playing their debut live show at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. The band contributed the soundtrack to the movie “The Trip,” and their 1968 album “A Long Time Comin’” was critically acclaimed.
Among Gravenites’ other best-known credits was his work with Janis Joplin and her backing bands. He wrote songs for them; Joplin performed his “As Good as You’ve Been to this World” and “Work Me, Lord” at Woodstock, and she had planned to record his “Buried Alive in the Blues” before her untimely death. Gravenites also took over as lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the band Joplin left a year before she died, and he recorded two albums with them.
Gravenites also worked as a producer of such songs as Brewer & Shipley’s “One Toke Over the Line.” In later years, he toured with the Chicago Blues Reunion and recorded solo music.
Notable quote
“Everybody loves the blues, but you can go broke trying to play it. Blues is your passion, your inspiration, I’ve heard that from many people, but jeez, it’s hard to make money off of it.” — from a 2005 interview for Sound Waves
Tributes to Nick Gravenites
Full obituary: The New York Times
