Colin Linden

Colin Linden
Colin Linden performing with Emmylou Harris – 2008
Background information
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	blues
Occupation(s)	musician, songwriter and record producer
Years active	1970s–present
Labels	Yellow Dog, True North, Compass, Various
Associated acts	Blackie and the Rodeo Kings Bruce Cockburn
Website	Colin Linden
Notable instruments
Guitar

Colin Kendall Linden (born 16 April 1960) is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of artists, including Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King, the Band, and Bob Dylan.

Linden is a versatile guitarist, both on acoustic and electric guitars, specializing in slide guitar and country blues and ragtime fingerpicking. He frequently collaborates with country and folk performers. He is also a member, with Stephen Fearing and Tom Wilson, of the group Blackie and the Rodeo Kings.

Linden was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When he was still an infant, his family moved to White Plains, New York. The ten-year-old Linden heard rock performers in New York venues, such as Van Morrison, the Flying Burrito Brothers, James Taylor, John Mayall, Johnny Winter and Taj Mahal.

When the family moved back to Toronto, Linden became interested in performers such as Taj Mahal, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Howlin' Wolf. When Howlin' Wolf played at Toronto’s Colonial Tavern, the then-11-year-old Linden spent three hours talking with the elder bluesman. A young Linden began performing at a local coffee house, the Fiddler’s Green Coffee House, singing and strumming a guitar. By 1973, Linden began learning how to finger pick. When Linden met David Wilcox, Linden decided to learn how to play slide guitar. Wilcox gave 140 blues albums to young Linden, to help Linden to learn about blues styles.