Blues fans in Brevard County are feeling bluer this weekend.
Steve Thorpe, 55, who played the music on the Space Coast for about 20 years,
died in his West Melbourne home Thursday night after a long,
undisclosed illness.
"Steve was such a bluesman," said Sue Lulley of E.A.R.T.H Awareness, an organization whose purpose is to pass on the
musical tradition to the next generation. "I think my friend Brian Boggs
said it best last night. He said, 'The thrill is gone, and the thrill
is really gone now.'
"Steve always played 'The Thrill is Gone,' " Lulley said, adding that no one could play it like Thorpe could.
Thorpe was scheduled to perform today with his Steve Thorpe Blues Orchestra at
E.A.R.T.H. Awareness' Blues-A-Que at the Beach Shack in Cocoa Beach.
Money raised at the benefit, which begins at noon, will be used to buy
musical instruments for Satellite High's music program.
Thorpe was one of the musicians who came up with the idea of buying instruments for schools, Lulley said.
"He even told me Tuesday on the phone not to give up his spot for Saturday," she said.
Instead of finding another band to replace the Blues Orchestra, Lulley said each band will perform for an extra half hour.
"I'm sure the musicians will be playing their hearts out," she said.
E.A.R.T.H. Awareness sponsored Thorpe in 2007 in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn.
"He went into the semifinal round," Lulley said, "but he lost because he
wasn't traditional enough. That's the words that were used."
Though Thorpe was known mainly as a bluesman, about eight years ago he
reconnected with Kentucky bluegrass roots at a jam session at the
now-closed Castaway Point.
After playing Dobro at weekly jam sessions, he joined the Penny Creek bluegrass band about five years ago.
"He had his own opinion about things," said Susan Pounds, who sings and
plays guitar and mandolin with the band. "Steve and I were like brother
and sister, you know? We fought. We talked to each other on the phone
every day.
"He was just a great musician. He was always to my left, all these years."
Pounds said Thorpe was a kind, unselfish person. He'd take the time to help anyone learn a lick on the guitar or Dobro.
"There's a lot of people that loved him," she said.
Ken Parker, bass player for
Atlantic Bluegrass, said his band planned to honor Thorpe during its second set at City Limits in Melbourne on Friday.
"He's quite the musician," Parker said. "His guitar work is absolutely amazing."
Fellow bluesman Austin Pettit played with Thorpe's band for a short time.
"We've been good friends," he said. "He was a great blues player. If I was
going to describe Steve, I'd just say he had so much soul, and he
believed in what he was doing."
Thorpe had been in poor health off and on for several years, but he rarely mentioned his illness.
"I talked to Linda (his wife) last night, and they're going to take him to
Kentucky and have a family burial," Lulley said Friday. "He'll be
buried next to his dad on a hilltop in Kentucky."
Thorpe is survived by Linda, his wife of 31 years; son Nathan, who played bass in the Blues
Orchestra; daughter-in-law Koah; and countless music fans.
Here is a story related to me by a friend of his:
People are starting to come forward with "Steve stories" that couldn't be told while he was alive as
to not embarrass this simple and humble man.
One story tells of a local guitar player getting sick and Steve stepped up and sat in for
her on SEVEN gigs and after each one, drove to her house and dropped off
"Her money"
There was no thought of doing it any other way, that was simply how and who he was.
A little know fact: Steves version of Little Wing is played at the Jimi Hendrix Museum.
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