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All Music Guide:
Along with Bernard Allison, Melvin Taylor and a handful of others, guitarist, singer and songwriter Chico Banks is part of the new generation of Chicago blues players who are expanding the boundaries of this often maligned, misunderstood music. Like Allison and Taylor, and even older Southern musicians like Larry Garner and Sherman Robertson, Banks focuses on good-time, upbeat blues.
Banks' music may not impress blues purists -- he freely mixes in elements of soul, funk and rock -- but when a musical form remains too static, as the late Luther Allison would say, it loses its vibrancy. He credits influences from a mixed bag of artists from the 1960s and '70s: "Magic Sam" Maghett, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Clay, George Benson and Tyrone Davis. But his playing also reflects the contribution of jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, and the funk of Prince, the Isley Brothers, the Ohio Players and Parliament/Funkadelic. Also not to be overlooked is his father, Jesse Banks, who played with the gospel group the Mighty Clouds of Joy.
Since joining his first band, a Top 40 cover group, at 14, Banks has performed with Johnny Christian, Evidence labelmate Melvin Taylor, Buddy Guy, Otis Clay, James Cotton, Artie "Blues Boy" White, Little Milton, Magic Slim, Big Time Sarah, Chick Rogers and most recently, Mavis Staples. Banks' sessionography includes albums by Willie Kent, Freddie Roulette and Pops Staples.
On his 1997 debut, Candy Lickin' Man, Banks is joined by the great gospel singer Mavis Staples, who also contributes liner notes. Although only in his 20s, Banks is already a veteran song interpreter; he covers classics like "Groove Me," "Got to Be Some Changes Made" and "The Sky Is Crying," putting his own individual stamp on each tune.
Wikipedia:
Chico Banks (March 7, 1962 – December 4, 2008) was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer. Banks released one album in 1997 on Evidence Records, but played with plenty of other blues musicians, from his late teens to his death at the age of 46.
He is best known for his tracks "Your Fine" and "Candy Lickin' Man". He was the son of fellow guitarist, Jessie Banks, who played backing to Mighty Clouds of Joy. One commentator noted that Banks "focuses on good-time, upbeat blues".
Biography
He was born Vernon X. Banks in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Banks was inspired by Magic Sam, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Clay, George Benson and Tyrone Davis. However, his blues guitar playing also incorporated both jazz and funk stylings. Banks first played in a covers group in his mid teens. He later worked with Melvin Taylor, James Cotton, Little Milton, Magic Slim, and Big Time Sarah, as well as both Guy and Clay. He also contributed towards the Long Way to Ol' Miss album, recorded in 1996 by Willie Kent.
His own 1997 debut album, Candy Lickin' Man, released on Evidence, saw Banks play alongside Mavis Staples. In 2002, Banks played on Lee "Shot" Williams' album, Let the Good Times Roll, and the following year on Tyrone Davis' album, Come to Daddy.
In 2007, Banks underwent surgery for a faulty heart valve.
Banks died in Chicago in December 2008.
