Larry Lee Lerma
Inducted in 2010
Larry cut his teeth on the vibrant Sunset Strip
new music showcase scene, gigging at legendary
venues such as the Whisky, the Roxy, Gazzari's,
the Starwood, etc., with several original bands
throughout the Eighties and into the early
Nineties.
Towards the end of that period, Larry also
toured briefly with the great Mick Taylor
(Bluesbreakers, Rolling Stones).
In the mid-Nineties, the flagship House of Blues
Sunset Strip concert venue opened for business,
and Larry was tapped to be the bassist for the
house band, the Sacred Hearts. In
that capacity, he has backed notable artists as
diverse as:
Bruce Springsteen, Sam Moore, Taj Mahal the Hi
Records All-Stars, Paul Schaffer, Chakha Khan,
Al Anderson, Tom Scott, Chris Thomas King, and
others.
It was here that Larry and the band eventually
met Jim Belushi, who was one of the original
investors. Jim started sitting in to
prepare for a movie role. Soon the band
and Jim had worked up enough material to start
playing full length engagements all around the
country.
Subsequently, Dan Ackroyd and Jim hit upon the
idea of using the Sacred Hearts on Blues
Brothers dates. The guys and the band have
now been together for 14 years, and whenever a
new HOB is opened, the band performs with the
Blues Brothers as well as backing up notable
guest artists. At one such opening, in
Cleveland, Larry and the band had the singular
honor of backing the iconic Gatemouth Brown,
less than a year before his death.
The band, with Dan and Jim ,also promoted a
project album, Big Men Big Music, with late
night network television appearances on Jay
Leno, Carson Daly, and, most significantly,
Saturday Night Live. On the same tour the
band also performed live at the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
Larry's recording sessions with Jimmie Vaughan
during this period yielded tracks on both the
Dusk to Dawn movie soundtrack, and Jimmie's
album Out There. Larry also played for
several years, just prior to moving here, with
Jimmie's pianist/guitarist Denny Freeman, the
legenday Texas guitarist and charter member of
the Cobras (with a young Stevie Ray
Vaughan). Denny also recently did several
years as Bob Dylan's lead guitarist.
This past decade, Larry was asked to participate
in creating music for Jim Belushi's long running
ABC televison sitcom According to
Jim. Jim wanted theme and incidental music
with a bluesy feeling and swagger. Larry
composed a number of the interstitial music cues
used throughout the show.'s run. He also
performed on the show's theme song, as well as
performing on the show on and off camera.
Since taking up residence in Tucson 16 years ago
to raise a family, Larry has been performing and
recording with Tucson Hall of Fame blues artists
such as Stephan George, Heather Hardy, Danny
Krieger, Ed DeLuccia, Tony Uribe, George Howard,
the late great Sam Taylor, etc, He
is also founding member of a band that
occasionally visits Tucson from L.A.,
fondly remembered by many Tucson blues fans -
the Souleros.
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