HISTORY

The beginnings of the Hollywood Fats Band started shortly after Al Blake (guitar, harmonica) and Fred Kaplan (piano) met in 1973. They began playing together as a duo at a small club in South Laguna Beach, CA. During this developing period, Al introduced Fred to Hollywood Fats at the famed Whiskey A-Go-Go where Fats was playing with Muddy Waters.

Fats began to play with Al and Fred at their Laguna Beach gig when he was off the road with Muddy’s band. Their trio played up and down California over the next year.

Fred contacted Richard Innes (drums) and Jerry Smith (bass) to join the band, and they played throughout California for about a year and a half, including the famed Monterey Jazz Festival. When Jerry Smith gave notice that he would be leaving the band to go back to school, Fats invited Canned Heat bassist, Larry Taylor, to step in. Larry’s first gig with the band was in Los Angeles while backing up the legendary singer Percy Mayfield, and he was hired afterward.

This group of musicians went on to record their ubiquitous album for PBR records (recorded in 1976, released in 1979), which has now been re-released worldwide several times over.

The Hollywood Fats Band set a new bar of excellence for many modern Blues bands to come. Their authentic command to play many Blues styles from early country Blues to post-war urban Blues has been a sterling example and template, especially featuring the incredible genius of Hollywood Fats’ guitar playing. Their collective recorded works are considered textbook curriculum by many younger Blues musicians.

After the tragic death Hollywood Fats in December of 1986 at the age of only 32, the Hollywood Fats Band stopped working temporarily.

After a few years, the band resurrected itself with all of the original existing members: Al Blake, Richard Innes, Larry Taylor, and Fred Kaplan. Not wanting to run a ghost band by continuing to use Fats’ name, they chose the name “Hollywood Blue Flames” to honor the creative genius of Hollywood Fats and start a fresh new era of their own music.

In place of Fats, they began featuring various highly qualified Blues guitarists. The most prominent guitar players who toured and recorded with the now legendary group were veteran guitarists Junior Watson and a young, upcoming Kirk Fletcher. Other great Blues guitarists such as Kid Ramos, Rick Holmstrom and Rusty Zinn were also tapped for many live gigs as the group continued to work well into the mid-2000’s.

They recorded and produced three excellent albums on the Los Angeles based Delta Groove label re-establishing their prominence in Blues history.

They have released three albums under their new name for Delta Groove Productions: Soul Sanctuary, Road To Rio, and Deep In America.