Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88’s

Taking their inspiration from the great jump n’ boogie outfits of the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s have helped to keep this uniquely American musical tradition alive for over thirty years. Born in Brooklyn in 1951, Mitch Woods began playing classical piano at eleven and was influenced by artists who would go on to lay the foundation for rock n’ roll. By his mid-teens, Woods was regularly performing in nightclubs, earning praise for his authentic take on post-War blues and R&B. In 1984, he released his debut album with the Rocket 88s, the band he had formed four years earlier, called Steady Date with Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88s. For the next several years, the band would perform continuously, regularly embarking on international tours and pausing just long enough to record new material. During this time, Woods continued to add to his stylistic repertoire, embracing the unique regional sounds of Chicago, Kansas City, Memphis, and particularly New Orleans, which he has amalgamated into his own signature sound that he calls “rock-a-boogie.” In 2007, Woods was nominated for the “Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year Award” at the Blues Awards, a deserving recognition for one of boogie-woogie’s most important torchbearers.