Joel Rafael
| Joel Rafael | |
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Joel Rafael performing in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Origin | San Diego County, California, United States |
| Genres | Folk, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica |
| Years active | 1994—present |
| Labels | Appleseed, Inside, Reluctant Angel |
| Associated acts | Jackson Browne, Woody Guthrie, Jimmy LaFave |
| Website | www |
| Members |
Joel Rafael Band: |
Joel Rafael Band:
Jamaica Rafael
Carl Johnson
Joel Rafael is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician from San Diego County, California. Rafael's second volume to celebrate the songs of Woody Guthrie, was released on Appleseed in 2005. The first volume, Woodeye, was released on Inside Recordings in 2003. Joel and his acoustic band have been performing and touring nationally since 1993. In 2000, the Joel Rafael Band, comprising Joel Rafael, (lead vocals and guitar), his daughter Jamaica (violin, viola and vocals), Carl Johnson (acoustic lead guitar) and Jeff Berkley (ethno-percussion), released their third album, Hopper on Inside Recordings, an independent label created by Jackson Browne and his management. The album was nominated in 2001 for an Association For Independent Music (AFIM) Best Contemporary Folk award.
Rafael was born in 1949 in Chicago and raised in the San Gabriel Valley suburbs of Los Angeles. His music education began with grade school music lessons beginning with accordion lessons at age eight closely followed by the snare drum. Rafael played in the school band through junior high school. It was not until high school that he picked up the guitar. During high school he also began writing songs, including the theme song for a play produced by his school's drama department.
Although he was exposed to and loved music from the time he was a child, it was the folk music of the early 1960s that began to stir his interest in writing as he studied the writing and performing styles of Woody Guthrie, The Limelighters, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Ian and Sylvia, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and dozens of others. Although Rafael moved to the Northwest in the late 60s, he and his wife eventually returned to California settling in the rural foothills of North San Diego County. There, while raising a family, Rafael continued to chronicle his life and times in song. During the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, Rafael performed around southern California in various groups including as a duo with Rosie Flores. As a solo performer and with his band, he opened shows throughout the southwestern United States for artists including Crosby, Stills and Nash, Sheryl Crow, Laura Nyro, Taj Mahal, Iris DeMent, Emmylou Harris and the legendary John Lee Hooker.
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