Name: Poppa Steve
Music genre: Jazz
Bio
As a drummer and bandleader, Steve Mutimer formed his first band, The Rhythm Kings, in hometown, Rockford, IL, while in high school from 1958 – 1961. The town’s first rock ‘n roll band became a big hit locally, worked with Brenda Lee and Frankie Ford while playing local teen gigs and recorded a demo at Sun Records at the invitation of Sam Phillips; the label didn’t sign the band. A single, Maj, was produced later on Cuca Records. It went on the regional Top Ten and scored a “bullet” in Billboard Magazine. Today Poppa Steve has composed and recorded 60 albums containing 650+ songs featuring Feel Good Groove music.
From 1965 Steve led his second band, The Daze & Knights, which became a road band for the William Morris Agency, Chicago Office. The band backed up the agency’s hit singers and vocal groups plus warmed up audiences for hit rock bands of the time, working with Bobby Goldsboro, The Four Tops, Jimmy Clanton, The Chiffons, The Vogues, Len Barry, Dick & Dee Dee, Brian Highland,The Crystals, Dee Dee Sharp, The McCoys, Johnny & the Hurricans, The Outsiders, The Reflections and many more.
For the next 25 years, Steve owned his own ad agency in Rockford and later San Diego where he wrote and produced hundreds of musical scores. He produced and directed TV spots with such notable celebrities as Eddie Albert, Kevin Costner, Vanna White, Jim Nabors, Mike Farrell (MAS*H), James Avery (Fresh Prince) and Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Dan Fouts, and Kellen Winslow. During this time Steve garnered over 100 awards for creative excellence including three TV Emmys, one for music composition presented by Stephen Bishop.
Since 2004 Steve has embraced the digital age and composed and produced 60 albums with 640+ songs. His tunes have been heard on 120+ radio stations and his work (3 songs) is featured in Edoardo Ponti’s film, Coming & Going. Poppa Steve draws heavily on his Classic Rock, R&B, Blues, and Country background for his riffs and licks, then wraps it all up in today’s Fusion Jazz creating a unique, retro yet very contemporary “sound” that can be definitively called, Feel Good Groove music which connects with young and old alike, a perfect fit for radio and TV.
Website or Social Media Page
http://dryheatrecords.rocks/
Links to Where My Music Can be Purchased
http://dryheatrecords.rocks/