page_title: The Black Sorrows
section_title: Formation and early years: 1983–85
hierarchical_section_title: The Black Sorrows / History / Formation and early years: 1983–85
caption_attribution_description: English: Joe Camelleri performs with the Black Sorrows at Byron Bay Bluesfest, April 2014.
context_page_description: The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri, who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reaching the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Charts: Hold on to Me, Harley and Rose, Better Times, The Chosen Ones - Greatest Hits and Lucky Charm. Their top 40 singles are "Chained to the Wheel", "Harley + Rose" and "Snake Skin Shoes".
context_section_description: The Black Sorrows began as a loose pick-up band in Melbourne in 1983. They played mostly covers of R&B, zydeco, soul and blues music. An early line-up was founding mainstay, Joe Camilleri (aka Joey Vincent) on vocals, saxophone and guitar (ex-The Pelaco Brothers, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons); with Jeff Burstin on guitar (ex-Company Caine, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons), Wayne Burt on guitar and vocals (ex-Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons, the Fabulaires); George Butrumlis on piano accordion; Wayne Duncan on bass guitar (ex-Daddy Cool, Living Legends); Steve McTaggart on violin; Paul Williamson on clarinet and saxophone; and Gary Young on drums (ex-Daddy Cool, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons).
  Initially, Camilleri used the group to play gigs in local cafes after the dissolution of his previous band, Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons. From 1983 to 1988 he used the name Joey Vincent for his work with the band. Membership in the band has been loose and fluid. Most of The Falcons, at one point or another, have been members; numerous other Australian musicians have drifted in and out of the line-ups. Aside from zydeco, their early style included Cajun music.
  Their first two albums, Sonola (June 1984) and Rockin' Zydeco (March 1985), were each recorded live-in-the-studio, in one day, with Camilleri producing. They consisted almost entirely of R&B covers of material from Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Arthur Alexander, Don Covay, and John Lee Hooker.
  A Place in the World followed in November 1985, again produced by Camilleri, it only had one cover track, the rest co-written by Camilleri with Nick Smith (ex-Millionaires, The Kevins, Stephen Cummings Band), who was also on guitar and backing vocals. Camilleri told Catherine Cook of The Canberra Times that they "had to exist on their own merit". She noted the songwriter was "taking all the best from the music he was playing and adding experiences and ideas".  Also joining the group, just before recording, was Peter Luscombe (ex-Tinsley Waterhouse Band, Stephen Cummings Band) on drums and percussion. Camilleri, Burstin, Burt, Butrumlis, Luscombe, McTaggart, and Smith were joined in the studio by sessions musicians including Ed Bates (ex-The Sports) on guitar; Joe Creighton (ex-Billy T) on bass guitar; Ross Hannaford (ex-Daddy Cool, Billy T) on guitar; Andrew Pendlebury (ex-The Sports) on guitar; and The Blackberries on vocal harmonies.
caption: Joe Camelleri performs with the Black Sorrows at Byron Bay Bluesfest, April 2014.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark III", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "350", "Image YResolution": "350", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Photo Professional", "Image DateTime": "2014:04:17 18:25:28", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "276", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "3550", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "350", "Thumbnail YResolution": "350", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3662", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8679", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1250", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "1250", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:04:17 18:25:28", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:04:17 18:25:28", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "61/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "138", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3346", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "5019", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "3346", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "5019", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "3256", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1920000/487", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "320000/81", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "128025004975", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[70, 200, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM"}