Blues Musician. Born Calvert Russell Kosler, he was a singer-songwriter and guitarist noted for his Texas rebel country blues. In the 1960s he formed the band The Cavemen and began playing Delta blues in his native state. After a stint of traveling to San Francisco, he spent the next 15 years in and out of jail for small-time drug dealing before returning to Texas in the late 1980s. There he befriended songwriter Townes Van Zandt and began writing his own poems and songs. He recorded a tape of his compositions which caught the interest of Patrick Mathé, the co-founder of the French New Rose record label, and at age 40 he signed a contract with New Rose. In 1990 Russell released his critically acclaimed debut album, "A Crack In Time", which sold 100,000 copies. Although he only had cult status in the US, he found great success throughout continental Europe. Throughout the 1990s he performed hundreds of concerts, played on BBC Radio programs and appeared in TV commercials for Motorex Oil of Switzerland, playing his hit single "Crossroads". Russell released 15 albums, including "Soldier" (1992), "Calvin Russell" (1997), "Crossroad" (2000), "Unrepentant" (2007) and "Contrabendo" (2011), released shortly before his death. Despite undergoing a liver transplant in 2010, he died of cancer.
Blues Musician. Born Calvert Russell Kosler, he was a singer-songwriter and guitarist noted for his Texas rebel country blues. In the 1960s he formed the band The Cavemen and began playing Delta blues in his native state. After a stint of traveling to San Francisco, he spent the next 15 years in and out of jail for small-time drug dealing before returning to Texas in the late 1980s. There he befriended songwriter Townes Van Zandt and began writing his own poems and songs. He recorded a tape of his compositions which caught the interest of Patrick Mathé, the co-founder of the French New Rose record label, and at age 40 he signed a contract with New Rose. In 1990 Russell released his critically acclaimed debut album, "A Crack In Time", which sold 100,000 copies. Although he only had cult status in the US, he found great success throughout continental Europe. Throughout the 1990s he performed hundreds of concerts, played on BBC Radio programs and appeared in TV commercials for Motorex Oil of Switzerland, playing his hit single "Crossroads". Russell released 15 albums, including "Soldier" (1992), "Calvin Russell" (1997), "Crossroad" (2000), "Unrepentant" (2007) and "Contrabendo" (2011), released shortly before his death. Despite undergoing a liver transplant in 2010, he died of cancer.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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