Popa Chubby isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for a guitar slinger to liven up your night, he just might be the guy.
Born Ted Horowitz in the Bronx during the final days of the Eisenhower administration, Popa Chubby devoured the rock music that surrounded him in the late 60s and early 70s, Chubby gravitated toward the blues as a young man, winning a national blues talent search sponsored by a Long Beach radio station in 1992. Throughout the nineties, Chubby toured continuously, honing his guitar skills. Among his better recordings were It’s Chubby Time in 1994 and The Good, the Bad and the Chubby in 2002
Chubby is probably best known for his searing guitar solos. He even has a knack for taking a sweet standard like “Keep on the Sunny Side” or “Over the Rainbow” (which you can check out below) and turning it into a rock anthem. His newest album, the two-disc Live at G. Bluey’s, displays those fantastic guitar skills as well as any of his previous work I have heard. You can check out his masterful guitar work on his cover of Billy Roberts’ “Hey Joe” or on his take on the Nino Rota instrumental “Godfather Theme.” And while Chubby is best known for aggressive blues-rock, he shows on his cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that he can slow it down. But mostly, this album is just a lot of fun.
About the author: Bill Wilcox is a roots music enthusiast recently relocated from the Washington, DC area to Philadelphia, PA and back again.