Book Binder was born in Queens, New York. Upon graduation from high school, he joined the Navy and undertook a tour of duty in Europe. He bought his first guitar at a military base in Italy. After completing his enlistment, he returned to New York, where he met and became friends with his guitar hero, Dave Van Ronk. Book Binder soon sought out Davis, who also lived in New York, and became his student and later his chauffeur and tour companion. Much of Book Binder's original material is based on his time on the road with Davis. By the mid- to late 1960s Book Binder was recording for both Kicking Mule and Blue Goose Records. In 1969, he toured England with Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup and Homesick James. After meeting another of his musical influences, the bluesman Pink Anderson, Book Binder released his first album, Travelin' Man, on Adelphi. The album was named after one of the songs he learned from Anderson. In 1973 he began a partnership with the fiddler Fats Kaplin, and they recorded Git Fiddle Shuffle in 1973. They performed together for three years, playing numerous concerts and recording a second album, Ragtime Millionaire, in 1977. After this partnership dissolved, Book Binder began touring the country, living in a motor home, and concentrating on live performances. Book Binder has been described as a guitar-picking hillbilly bluesman. He has released 12 albums and has performed at most major blues and folk festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including Merlefest. Notables that have shared the stage with Book Binder include Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, John Jackson, Sonny Terry, Doc Watson, Ray Charles, and Brownie McGhee. He has appeared regularly on Nashville Now. He is listed in Blues Who's Who, by the music historian Sheldon Harris. Book Binder is a veteran guitar instructor and teaches at the Fur Peace Ranch with Jorma Kaukonen and others whose lives have been influenced by Davis. There he demonstrates songs, turnarounds, chord variations, right-hand methods, and many of his own powerful adaptations and unique approaches to the blues. Book Binder's album Hillbilly Blues Cats (Rounder) was named as one of the ten most essential acoustic guitar albums of 1992. The 1992 category winners also included Eric Clapton's Unplugged, Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth and Neil Young's Harvest Moon.
Roy Book Binder Biography by Ron Wynn
An often stirring folk/blues guitarist and vocalist, Roy Book Binder has been playing country blues since the mid-'60s, when he began recording for Blue Goose. Greatly influenced by Rev. Gary Davis and Pink Anderson, Book Binder played in East Coast coffeehouses in the early '60s, then began accompanying Rev. Davis on tours in the mid-'60s. He also played with Larry Johnson, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and Homesick James. Besides constant concerts and tours, Book Binder has made additional recordings for Blue Goose, as well as Adelphi, Rounder, and his own PEGleg label.
Book Binder began playing blues guitar while he was enlisted in the Navy. Following his discharge from the military, he enrolled in Rhode Island Junior College. After a brief spell there, he attended New York's New School for Social Research. Book Binder quit school in 1967, after he met the Rev. Gary Davis. Book Binder became Davis' chauffeur, during which he took extensive lessons from the blind guitarist. He started his recording career slowly, cutting some singles for Kicking Mule and Blue Goose in 1968. In 1969, he toured England with Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup and Homesick James. The following year, he released his first album, Travelin' Man, on Adelphi. After the release of Travelin' Man, he began touring America extensively.
Book Binder began playing with fiddler Fats Kaplin in 1973, recording Git Fiddle Shuffle the same year. Roy and Fats were a duo for three years, playing numerous concerts and recording a second album, Ragtime Millionaire, in 1976. Following the release of Ragtime Millionaire, the duo stopped performing together and Book Binder bought a motor home, which became his permanent residence. Live performances became his primary concern after the release of Goin' Back to Tampa in 1979. For nearly ten years, he toured the country in the motor home, driving himself from club to club, hitting numerous coffeehouses and festivals along the way.
Book Binder returned to recording in 1988, releasing Bookaroo! on Rounder Records. In addition to his constant touring, he recorded regularly in the '90s and remained active into the new millennium; his albums during this period have included The Hillbilly Blues Cats (1992, Rounder), Live Book...Don't Start Me Talkin'... (1994, Rounder), Polk City Ramble (1998, Rounder), Singer Songwriter Bluesman (2001, PEGleg), and Live at the Fur Peace Station (2005, PEGleg).