GRAMMY® RECOGNITION FOR BLUES ICON ERIC GALES AS “A TRIBUTE TO LJK” EARNS BEST CONTEMPORARY BLUES ALBUM NOMINATION AT THE 68TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS®
Eric Gales is entering 2026 with rare momentum and serious awards-season attention, as his project A Tribute to LJK lands in the conversation for the 68th GRAMMY® Awards. Built around the legacy of his late brother, Little Jimmy King, the record is both a personal statement and a modern blues-rock showcase, strengthened by high-profile guest appearances and a touring run that closed 2025 with sold-out dates.
There is only one Eric Gales. From the first note, his sound is unmistakable — a searing, upside-down guitar tone paired with smoky, powerhouse vocals that feel less performed and more summoned. Known to many as “Raw Dawg,” Gales has long occupied a singular space in blues-rock, where virtuosity, vulnerability, and lived experience collide.
Born into a deeply musical Memphis family, Gales picked up the guitar at just four years old. Guided early by his older brothers, Eugene and Manuel — the latter better known to blues fans as Little Jimmy King — he absorbed the language of the instrument through the DNA of legends like Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, and B.B. King. Even then, his left-handed, upside-down playing style wasn’t a gimmick; it was instinct, identity, and defiance wrapped into one.
Gales emerged as a prodigy in the early 1990s, earning industry attention at an age when most artists are still finding their footing. But brilliance alone does not insulate anyone from life’s harsher turns. Over the decades that followed, Gales faced well-documented struggles with addiction and incarceration — chapters that could have ended many careers entirely. Instead, they became part of a longer, more honest arc. His eventual return wasn’t framed as a comeback, but as a reckoning — one that would lead to some of the most powerful music of his life.
It also doesn’t hurt that greatness runs in the family. Carlos Santana, himself a transcendent figure in guitar history, is Gales’ godfather — a symbolic passing of the torch that feels less ceremonial and more inevitable.
Today, Eric Gales stands firmly in his moment. A rule-breaker and genre-blender, he has been openly championed by modern guitar titans including Joe Bonamassa, Dave Navarro, and Mark Tremonti — all of whom have described him, without hesitation, as one of the finest guitarists alive. Yet for all the acclaim, Gales’ latest work looks inward rather than forward.
“A Tribute to LJK” is both a modern blues statement and a deeply personal offering. Released with the confidence of an artist fully at peace with his voice, the record honors the legacy of his late brother, Little Jimmy King, who passed away suddenly in 2002 at just 37. Like Eric, Jimmy was a left-handed guitarist who played upside down, channeling a ferocious Memphis blues style that fused electric grit with funk groove, soul weight, and rock urgency.
Rather than reinterpret his brother’s work from a distance, Gales inhabits it. Nearly every track on the album is drawn from Little Jimmy King’s original compositions, refracted through Eric’s lived experience and modern sonic lens. The result is not nostalgia, but continuation — a bloodline carried forward.
“This record has been a long time coming,” Gales has shared. “I wanted it to be the ultimate tribute to my late brother — to keep his memory alive and make sure people remember who he was and still is. I wanted to deliver his tunes to the world through my eyes. And I wanted it to be badass — and that’s exactly how it turned out.”
The project is bolstered by an extraordinary lineup of collaborators, including Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Josh Smith, Joe Bonamassa, and the incomparable Buddy Guy. Each guest appearance feels purposeful, reinforcing the album’s sense of community, respect, and lineage rather than stealing focus from its core mission.
That mission has not gone unnoticed. As Gales looks toward the 68th GRAMMY® Awards, he does so with a calm confidence earned through decades of perseverance. The field is undeniably competitive — with strong releases from Joe Bonamassa, Samantha Fish, Robert Randolph, and Southern Avenue — but “A Tribute to LJK” stands apart as a project driven by legacy rather than strategy.
Beyond the studio, Gales remains a formidable live presence. A seasoned international touring artist, he closed out 2025 with an extensive run of dates, many of them sold out, bringing the music of “A Tribute to LJK” directly to audiences around the world. Onstage, the emotion behind the record translates with striking clarity — every solo, every phrase carrying weight.
His résumé is already crowded with milestones. In 2017, “Bookends” reached number one on the Billboard Blues Charts, a feat later matched by “Crown.” He has earned multiple Blues Music Awards, received the key to his hometown and other major cities, and was honored with a star on the legendary Beale Street — a fitting recognition for an artist who embodies the street’s enduring spirit.
In 2025, Gales’ reach extended even further into cinematic territory. Featured in the film Sinners, composed by Ludwig Göransson, his guitar work plays a defining role in the score’s emotional arc. Tracks like Grand Closin’ and Elijah showcase his ability to merge raw blues expression with orchestral storytelling — hinting at a future where his influence may reach beyond albums and stages. An Academy Award nod may not be as far-fetched as it sounds.
This is not Gales’ first encounter with GRAMMY® recognition. His 2022 nomination for “Crown” marked a significant moment of validation — not as redemption, but as acknowledgment. When GRAMMY® Day arrives on February 1, 2026, surprises are inevitable. And if Eric Gales’ name is called, it will feel less like a moment of arrival and more like a long-overdue affirmation of a career defined by resilience, honesty, and undeniable fire.
Eric Gales’ time is not coming. It is here.
With A Tribute to LJK, Eric Gales is not merely reflecting on legacy — he is actively shaping it. The project stands as both a personal reckoning and a forward-facing statement from an artist who has earned every inch of his place in modern blues history. As he navigates renewed GRAMMY® recognition, international touring success, and expanding creative horizons that now include film scoring, Gales remains grounded in purpose rather than prestige. In the following conversation, he speaks candidly about honoring his late brother, the emotional weight of nomination season, the responsibility he feels as a musician, and where his restless creative spirit is headed next.
Q&A with Eric Gales
Tell me what it is about this project – “A Tribute to LJK”, that makes it so special.
EG: Its special to me because it’s a snapshot of the memories of my late brother, through my lenses of some if his songs that are dear to my heart.
Tell me what it means to you to be a Grammy nominee for the second time?
EG: Being nominated for a 2nd time is just as humbling and exciting as the first time. It is a huge honor to be nominated period. It’s amazing.
Tell me what it will mean to you to win this nomination?
EG: When I hear, and the winner is Eric Gales! It will be an ultimate rush of gratitude to the highest degree. Getting closer to the day, I am getting more nervous by the day.
Tell me how your music changes lives?
EG: I can only give my perception from what people have conveyed to me that changed their outlook on certain things. As well as people telling me when I performed a rendition of someone else's music, they never imagined this song being done that way. Blues music in general touches everyone emotionally, so if my music touches 1 person I am happy.
Talk about your proficiency in blues guitar and how you were able to get to the level that you’re at today.
EG: I just never gave up, always uphill battles. I don't really have a choice, honestly this is all I know, I am a consummate musician through and through. Also, I am constantly hearing things that inspire me and connecting to them, as well as applying it to my guitar playing. I grew up on this kind of music, and continuing to strive as much as I can, and let the rest handle itself.
You worked on the film “Sinners” which just got nominated for the most Oscars ever – 16 nominations, what does this mean to you?
EG: Yes, I was featured in the film “Sinners” Original Motion Picture Score, alongside genius composer, Ludwig Goransson, known for his work on films like Black Panther and Oppenheimer. “Grand Closin,” which features my guitar work as part of the bluesy finale for the film's score, and “Elijah”, showcases my instrumental blues guitar skills, blending them with the orchestral score, alongside other collaborators like Christone "Kingfish" Ingram and Lars Ulrich, bringing his powerful riffs to the soundtrack for the film Michael B. Jordan-starred in. This is all a first, I am just so excited, to be part of this amazing film, I can’t even imagine.
Where do you see your music in 5 years?
EG: By simply continuing to do more of it, music outside the norm – such as movie scores and other things that brings awareness to the legacy of who Eric Gales is!
Eric Gales continues to stand as one of the most vital voices in contemporary blues — an artist whose work bridges generations without diluting its truth. Whether honoring his roots, expanding into film, or redefining what modern blues can sound like, Gales moves forward with purpose, clarity, and undeniable fire.
Dive deeper into the world of Eric Gales — from new music to live performances and more — at Official Website
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