| Born and raised in Manhattan by a family that had Bohemian leanings, she spent her formative years hanging out with musicians like Peter Rowan, John Sebastian, and Geoff Muldaur, who hung out in her father's sandal shop, before picking up the guitar at the age of ten. Her record debut came two years later, backing her father on the "Elektra String Band Project," a concept album. She met guitarist Stefan Grossman, who, like her, was in love with the blues. The pair would often travel to the Bronx to visit the Reverend Gary Davis, one of the greatest living bluesmen. At the tender age of 15 she left home, hitting the road in true 1960's fashion and traveling through the South, where she learned her blues trade at the feet of Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt, her greatest influence, before ending up in Berkeley. It was there that she developed her slide technique (she uses a socket wrench as her slide), but she didn't record until 1975, when she released "I'm in Love" (a compilation of earlier material, "The Early Tapes 1975-76," appeared later). A move to Chrysalis Records in 1977 was a chance for her to explore mainstream rock and pop. The first album "Intoxication So Bitter" failed to gather any support in the popular marketplace. Her second release was 1978's "You're The One." The 12" single of the title track became a huge club hit. Disgruntled with the push for her to be a "disco artist" Rory dropped from sight for three years resurfacing on Rounder Records in 1981. She toured constantly, often playing as many as 250 dates in a year, which kept her away from her family, she'd married and begun having children in the early 1970's, but developed her reputation as a strong, vibrant live performer, and one of the best players of old country blues in America. In 1987 the best of her Rounder cuts were compiled on "Best Blues and Originals," which, as it said, featured her interpretations of blues classics and some of her own material. Block made a series of instructional records and videos, as well as a children's record, "Color Me Wild." Although she had been performing for a long time, the plaudits didn't really begin until 1992, when she won a NAIRD Award for "Ain't I A Woman," a feat repeated in 1994 and 1997. In 1996 she began winning W.C. Handy Awards, first for Best Traditional Album ("When A Woman Gets The Blues"), and in 1997 and 1998 for Best Traditional Blues Female Artist. In 1997 she was elected to the CAMA Hall of Fame, and in 1999 she received yet another Handy Award, for Best Acoustic Blues Album ("Confessions Of A Blues Singer"). She stills tours, although not as heavily as in earlier times, and she's often accompanied by her grown son Jordan Block who also plays on her albums. |
