Joe "Survival" Caruoso

Joe Caruso grew up in a New Orleans musical family. The legendary Club Desire, just across the street from Joe’s house, was where he first learned the sounds of Blues and Rhythm and Blues.

In the Summer of ’69 Joe received his draft notice and spent a year in the tropical paradise of Viet Nam. April Fool’s Day 1971 found Joe back in his home town of New Orleans. Joe moved to Oakland in 1984 and had many successful years playing there.

He moved back home to New Orleans in November 1992.

In September of 2005, Joe left New Orleans with his elderly mother on a Friday to play a gig with Al “Little Fats” Jackson at the Grand Casino in Kinder, Louisiana, located in the northwest part of the state. The weather was beautiful that weekend. While there, Joe received a telephone call from a friend in New Orleans warning him not to come back home because a storm was approaching. Joe didn’t know then that this storm would become the very powerful Hurricane Katrina and that everything he owned would be lost except for his love of his family and the Blues.

Joe moved his Mom to his sister’s house in Deltona, Florida, to keep his family together and safe. Always a “Survivor,” Joe has created this collection of his songs for your enjoyment and wishes to dedicate it in memory of his Mother, Verdadelle Adams, born in 1928, who passed away during the making of this recording.

When you hail from New Orleans, the term “survival” isn’t used lightly.

Among musicians, the survival instinct also is a notion that inspires respect.

So it’s fitting that Central Florida blues practitioner Joe “Survival” Caruso has adopted the word into his name. It’s more than a nickname to a veteran bandleader and New Orleans native who not only managed to miss Hurricane Katrina’s wrath in his hometown, but also has built a reputation as one of the most solid bluesmen in the Southeast.

 Jim Abbott Freelance Music Critic

“True-to-life, deep-south, blues by a man that has lived the life. New Release by Lakehouse Records Showcases Joe Caruso as Writer and Performer. Let Joe tell YOU his story!”

– Leonid Auskern, Jazz News – Europe

“As evidenced by his latest recording, I Gotta Tell Somebody, the sounds of New Orleans are imprinted on Caruso’s DNA. Echoes of Earl King, an early mentor, and Gatemouth Brown, whose Texas swing drifted across the border, resonate in his taut, cleanly burning guitar riffs. His tenor vocals, too, resound with Bourbon Street bonhomie, flavored with a touch of menace. 

– Bob Weinberg, Jazz Blues Florida Magazine

“In the Blues Capital of Florida, Joe Caruso embodies the old-style blues sound that crosses generations, throwing in some boogie-woogie and a touch of rock and roll. When Joe gets into his groove, you can’t stay in your chair. Gotta get up there on the dance floor!”

– Dick Conklin, Daytona Beach Nightlife Examiner