Calvin Russell

The Profile

Calvin Russell (1948–2011) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Austin, Texas. A late-blooming, road-hardened voice of roots and blues rock, his career took off in the early 1990s when Patrick Mathé of France’s New Rose Records championed him. He became far better known in France and across Europe than in the U.S., with landmarks including A Crack in Time, Soldier, and the Paris-recorded live set Le voyager.

Texan rocker adopted by France; broke out around 1990 with New Rose Records under producer Patrick Mathé; debut album A Crack in Time (1990) at age 42; notable covers include Blaze Foley’s “I Should Have Been Home,” Townes Van Zandt’s “Nothin’,” and The Rolling Stones’ “Play With Fire”; live album Le voyager recorded in Paris (1993); songs and image reflect a hard-lived, ex-con past.

Reviews paint Calvin Russell as a late-blooming Texas rocker whose raw, blues-soaked songs mirror a hard-lived life. France and New Rose Records propelled his breakout around 1990. A Crack in Time earns strong praise for lean roots rock and key covers; Le voyager captures his explosive live streak; Soldier is hailed as his best studio set by one reviewer. Sam draws mixed-but-interested notes, closing with a resonant “Dream of a Better World.”