G. Love has plenty of love for a late hill country musician

G. Love, aka Garrett Dutton, has always tipped his cap to his influences. Dutton has acknowledged the impact of Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters and R.L. Boyce has had on the folky-bluesy sound he has crafted.

Dutton, 53, never had the chance to pay a personal tribute to Waters, who passed away when the singer-songwriter was a pre-pubescent coming of age on the streets of Philadelphia.

  Buy Photo

Dylan lives in a fortress of solitude. However, Dutton had the chance to perform with the underheralded Boyce. The Mississippi hill country blues artist was schooled by such legends as R.L. Burnside and Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Dutton visited producer Luther Dickinson's Zebra Ranch Studios in Coldwater, Mississippi, in 2021 and Boyce, a vocalist-guitarist, was present. An impromptu jam session featuring Dutton, Boyce, guitarist Alvin Youngblood Hart, percussionist Sharde Thomas, guitarist Christone Ingram and multi-instrumentalist Will Kimbrough happened not long after Dutton arrived.

"I'll never forget how that went," Dutton said while calling from his Cape Cod home. "I was feeling a little trepidation. I remember thinking, 'Can I hang with this authentic guy, who was part of the hill country culture.?' R.L. was an authentic bluesman. The only other guy I played with on his level was Buddy Guy, who is a star. R.L was the sweetest guy. He was so funny. It was an unforgettable experience playing harmonica with him."

After touring behind "Philadelphia Mississippi" in 2022 and 2023, Dutton and producer Logan Tichnor revisited the tapes of that special evening. They decided to sample and reimagine Boyce's performance with contemporary sonics, and the result is "Ode to R.L.," which was released in November.

The hill country blues have been combined with modern grooves. "Ode to R.L." is the first album Dutton has created with his music placed on top of hip hop beats.

"It's a great mash up of sounds," Dutton said. "I've been at this for many years, and this was one of the most fun experiences I've had making a record."

The band's eponymous debut, which was released in 1994, went gold with a pair of minor hits like "Cold Beverage" and "Baby's Got Sauce."

"I remember what it was like then," Dutton said. "I was just a kid since I was 21 years old. I used to be the kid and now I'm 53 years old.

Dutton, who will perform Friday, Jan. 9 at the Wildwood Saloon with Special Sauce, is the father of three prepubescent children.

"But I'm still out there doing it," Dutton said.

Bassist Jim "Jimi Jazz" Prescott and drummer Chuck Treece have been performing and friends with Dutton since he started the act.

"Chuck is a Philly legend," Dutton said. "He is an iconic skateboarder, artist and musician. I love what he does."

Over the years Dutton and his bandmates have jammed with a number of celebrated friends, ranging from the late Dr. John to Donovan Frankenreiter and Jack Johnson.

Dutton essentially launched the latter's career. Johnson wrote and added vocals for the song "Rodeo Clowns,' which was featured on G. Love's 1999 album "Philadelphonic." The song became the most notable tune on the album.

"I'll never forget that day we met since Jack really killed me," Dutton said. "The moment I heard him I was stunned by the effortlessness of his delivery and the poignancy of his lyrics. He uses regular bar chords, which I never use but the way he plays, his originality, it's just very impressive. But Jack is just one of many amazing people we met while being in this band. It's truly been an incredible trip ... I have nothing but gratitude for the experience."

Dutton is still true to his sound, which is the melding of blues and hip hop that was gleaned from his formative Philly years. Even though Dutton lives in New England, he still possesses plenty of Philly attitude.

"That city shaped me," Dutton said. "There's no place like it. We had neighborhoods there that back in the day, you didn't walk too far in one direction or there would be trouble. There was the Polish neighborhood, the Italian neighborhood. I loved my time in Philadelphia."

That's evident with an album entitled "Philadelphonic." Even "Philadelphia Mississippi" has the moniker of his hometown right in the face of fans.

The album, which was released in 2022, kicks off with "Love from Philly," and that track has nothing to do with the Philadelphia below the Mason-Dixon line. "Love From Philly" is a hip-hop salute to Dutton's roots. Philadelphia rapper Schooly D and the aforementioned Treece help make the song groove.

"You might notice that there is no comma between Philadelphia and Mississippi," Dutton said. "While growing up in Philadelphia, I loved that there was another Philadelphia in America. There's the blues in Mississippi and hip hop in Philly. Both are big parts of my sound. I love both parts of the country. I'm not sure where my music would be without those places."