C. W. Stoneking

Christopher William "C.W." Stoneking (born 1974) is an Australian blues singer-songwriter, guitarist and banjo player. He has released three studio albums, King Hokum (March 2005), Jungle Blues (28 August 2008) and Gon' Boogaloo (17 October 2014), on his own King Hokum Records label. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009 Jungle Blues won Best Blues and Roots Album; he was also nominated for Best Male Artist, Breakthrough Artist – Album, Best Independent Release and Best Cover Art. Gon' Boogaloo peaked at No. 17 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

C.W. Stoneking was born in Katherine, Northern Territory, on March 15 1974, the son of Billy Marshall Stoneking. In 2005 Stoneking recorded an album of original blues compositions titled King Hokum. The album was received with great critical acclaim in the Australian media after its release in 2006. In 2006, Stoneking formed his backing band, the Primitive Horn Orchestra with whom he still performs. The current line-up is James Clark (tuba, double bass), Stephen Grant (cornet), Stu Barker (trombone), and Johnny Machin (drums).

In 2006, radio presenter Tim Ritchie picked Stoneking's King Hokum as his album of the year on Radio National's Breakfast program. Radio National also presented his February 2007 Australia-wide tour. King Hokum was nominated for the Best Blues/Roots Album in the ARIA Music Awards of 2007. It won the Best Independent Blues Release award in the 2007 AIR Awards (Australian Independent Record Industry Awards).

On 20 October 2008 Stoneking released Jungle Blues, his second album of original compositions, which peaked at No. 45 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Jungle Blues won Best Blues and Roots Album, and was nominated for Best Independent Release, Best Male Artist and Best Album Cover Art at the ARIA Music Awards of 2009. At the fourth annual AIR Awards held on 22 November 2009, Stoneking was nominated for Best Independent Album, Best Independent Blues/ Roots Album, and Independent Artist of the Year, with Jungle Blues winning the award for Best Independent Blues/ Roots Album. Jungle Blues was also shortlisted in the 2008 Australian Music Prize. He appeared on 'Later... with Jools Holland' on 5 October 2010, playing " Jungle Blues" and "Jungle Lullaby".

Stoneking's next album, Gon' Boogaloo, appeared on 17 October 2014, which peaked at No. 17 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

Albums

• C.W. Stoneking (1998)
• C.W. Stoneking & The Blue Tits (live) - independent release (1999)
• King Hokum - King Hokum Records (KHR 01) (March 2005)
• Mississippi & Piedmont Blues 1927-1941 - King Hokum Records (2006)
• Jungle Blues - King Hokum Records (KHR02) (20 October 2008)
• Gon' Boogaloo - King Hokum Records/Caroline Australia (17 October 2014)

Singles

• Rich Man's Blues/ Maggie Mae - Evangelist Records (EV002) (April 2012) Vinyl only, 45 and 78 rpm

Contributions

• Hiram and Huddie - Vol. 1 & 2 - Hillgrass Bluebilly Records (3 March 2009) ("In New Orleans")