Joey Stuckey

There are any number of credits, awards and accomplishments given Joey Stuckey throughout his multifaceted, 30-year career.

An award-winning artist, producer, educator, mentor, and speaker whose efforts transcend the boundaries of sight, sound, and genre, Joey has done it all, both personally and professionally. So too, there’s another credit that should be added to that list of achievements, and that’s of “Survivor.” Blind since the age of two, he’s overcome any number of life-threatening obstacles and medical issues and has gone on to achieve tremendous success in each endeavor he’s undertaken. 

“My early life was focused on survival,” Joey says. 

He’s clearly reached well beyond that original goal. He owns and operates Shadow Sound Studio, a state-of the-art recording complex in his hometown of Macon, Georgia, and where he’s helmed projects for Randall Bramblett (Steve Winwood, Traffic, Gregg Allman and Friends), Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Train), and Mike Mills (R.E.M.). In addition, he’s collaborated with such artists as Ed Roland (Collective Soul), Paul “Mad Dog” McGuinness (The Pogues), and Will Morrison (Modern English), while also sharing stages with the likes of James Brown, the B-52s, Trisha Yearwood, and Bad Company, among the many.

At the same time, his commitment to reaching out and offering the gift of making music is evident in every effort he undertakes. Given the title of “Music Ambassador of Macon,” he holds to a consistent philosophy that melody is, at its very essence, an uplifting gift to all.

“I want people to connect,” he insists. “One of the things I worry about is that we have forgotten how to be neighbors to each other. We've forgotten how to to cherish the fact that the coolest thing you can do is get to know another person and hear their stories and tell them yours. That is at the heart of what I do as an artist.”

That’s never been more evident than in the six tracks that grace his new EP, King Of Strings, (arriving October 23), a varied set of tunes inspired by its recording at the Les Paul Recording Studio, the first album to be recorded in those hallowed environs as, to date, it's mainly been an Education Center. Strings runs the gamut, from the power pop parameters of “Temple In the Wind” to the solid strut of “Born To Be Your Toy,” the decisive drive that marks the upbeat “King of Strings, the bluesy stride of “Hertsmere Blues,” and the rocksteady, immersive attitude of “Baby Don’t.” A riff-ready and wholly compelling cover of Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love” caps the entire effort.

“This EP is a further exploration of painting with all the colors,” Joey insists. “I've come to realize that authenticity is really what it's all about, and so I have decided to lean into eclecticism. As an artist, I feel like I should be able to paint with all the colors. If I wanna play something aggressive and heavier, I should be able to do that. If I wanna play something light and fluffy, I should I should be able to do that too. I've got that artist mentality and so I've just kind of leaned into that.”

Joey himself took the role of producer and was, as always, responsible for vocals, guitar and writing all the songs, except "Sunshine Of Your Love.” Likewise, all those involved in the project — Dusty Wakeman (bass), David Raven (drums and mix engineer on "Temple in the Wind”), Tom Camuso (recording engineer at the Les Paul Recording Studio, mix engineer of all tracks except "Temple in the Wind”), Jessica Thompson (mastering engineer), Jack Hackett (artwork layout) — shared the same mission.  

As Joey explains, each of the songs bore special significance. 

“I wrote the first single, ‘Temple in the Wind,’ in about 15 minutes,” Joey explains. “Literally, as I was putting my guitar down to go to bed and stopped working for the day, this song came out. I told the guys, ‘Hey, I'm really sorry about this. I know we agreed on so many songs, but I've come up with one that I really like. It just somehow came to me and I think it's really interesting.’ Everybody flipped over the tune and said that we have to record it. I’m always about maximizing every potential opportunity. That’s part of my nature as a blind brain tumor survivor who almost died a bunch of times. I'm not maudlin, I’m not depressed, I’m not anything like that. But I am keenly aware that I have a limited amount of time on this earth, and I have a lot of stuff I want to do, so that’s my motivation. I basically have two speeds — full speed ahead and off. So either I'm creating or I'm asleep. And honestly, I resent having to sleep.

“Ultimately, ’Temple In the Wind’ is about that still point in your life, that sanctuary where no matter what's going on all around you, you’re safe in that place. And for me, that place is a person… my lovely wife Jennifer.”

“Born To Be Your Toy” was spawned from an entirely different muse. “I'm inspired by a lot of jazz,” Joey reflects. “I like compound rhythms. I like expanded harmonies. I like weird chord voicings. The weirder it is, the better I like it. However, simple is interesting too. ‘Born to Be Your Toy’ is very simple, but it's aggressive as well, because it has a bit of swagger and a bit of edge in order to communicate the message of how unhealthy the relationship is. The music clues you to the fact there's something happening that's not exactly where it should be. ‘Born To Be Your Toy’ is a really fun song to play, and it was such a joy to do.”

Joey says that “King Of Strings” is a tribute of sorts to his hometown, eternally linked to the Allman Brothers, and Duane Allman in particular. “I initially wrote that last year because someone had asked me to play this charity benefit, which was called ‘Skydog’ in honor of Duane Allman. That was his nickname. They were asking a select few artists to write a song about him and debut it at the festival, which made that kind of a hook to encourage people to come. So I said I would participate. Of course, the Allman Brothers are a big deal here, and that’s how we came up with this King of Strings concept. It was a revelation when I heard Duane Allman as a 15-year-old kid who had just moved to Georgia. In truth, ‘King of Strings’ refers to a lot of very fine guitar players out there that have that have truly made a difference in in music, and Les Paul is for sure one of those. So I decided to rewrite the first verse and make it about Les Paul. We call this the ‘King of Strings Les Paul Edition.’”

As far as “Hertsmere Blues” is concerned, Joey claims that its only function was to provide a vehicle that allowed him to show off both his vocal chops and his guitar savvy within the context of a straight-ahead blues tune. “‘My baby's left me, my dog left me. Here I am singing the blues.’ Everybody asks, ‘what does Hertsmere mean? It’s absolutely a placeholder name, because it was the street in the UK where I was staying when I was on tour there back in 2022. That’s where I wrote the song. I was too lazy to change the title.”

He has an equally succinct explanation for "Baby Don’t.” “I thought about if the Beatles had played with Chuck Berry,” Joey suggests. “It was really just a silly little song, but it does have some interesting things musically. It starts off in the key A, ends up in the key of C, and there's a couple of little fun things in there, like the ending riff which is this sort of mutilation of a standard sort of Duke Ellington thing. Silly little things make it kind of fun, and amazingly enough, people love this tune, even though it was kind of a throwaway.”

“Sunshine Of Your Love” was added out of a desire to add a bit of edge to the proceedings. “I hadn't played it in ten years, and I just thought Cream and Eric Clapton were appropriate to channel in the Les Paul studio,” Joey reflects. “I thought we needed another rock song or two with a more aggressive vibe, and so we did this one.”

Naturally then, being the first artist to record in the Les Paul Recording Studio had a major effect on the proceedings overall. “I know it's crazy for me not to record in my own studio,” he admits. “Obviously, it just makes financial sense, because I've got great gear and great rooms and all that stuff, but the Les Paul Studio is a unique animal. I lobbied them, for lack of a better word, to be the first artist to record there. I thought that somebody should record in that space, although that’s not its initial purpose. They had to restore and revitalize the equipment he was using back in 1957.”

As a result, the historical significance of inhabiting those unique environs helped frame the proceedings. “They have all these tapes that he left behind,” Joey explains. “Some of them are released, some of them are unreleased. They are literally going back and remastering and remixing all these amazing things, and they're eventually going to release music from the archives. However they have to use his original equipment because the tapes won't play on anything else. As a blind person whose universe is absolutely all about sound, I thought what an interesting sonic journey it would be to go back to 1957 where you have only eight channels, all tubes, in the console. It became this sort of sonic transition. That studio is the mecca of sound recording and to be using Les Paul's gear that he helped invent was absolutely inspirational.”

That praise was returned. “I can’t think of a better pairing than Les’ original equipment and King of Strings,” insists Tom Camuso, the Official Recording Engineer with the Les Paul Foundation. “Joey’s music and his approach to capturing it made this record very special. We tried to keep the process simple —  a great band playing great songs together, live, through great gear— and nothing more.”

The EP proves the point. It fulfills Joey’s desire to make music that’s especially meaningful. “I have gotten to a point as an artist where I just don't do anything anymore that doesn't interest me,” Joey maintains. “I have to be interested. I don't care if anybody else likes it. Ideally, the world will love it. You want your art to be appreciated. You want it to mean something to somebody else. Yet I don't expect to sell out 80,000 seat arenas, but I do feel that when I've had these wonderful opportunities, there are a lot of successful things that I can continue to do.”

He’s held on to that philosophy since early on. As a teenager, Joey worked his first audio engineering gig at a planetarium, designing soundscapes to accompany the light shows while  connecting with local musicians. He subsequently began recording local bands in his home before eventually realizing he wanted to make music of his own. He quickly absorbed the historical musical legacy that emanated from that bastion of southern rock and soul that was Macon-spawned in the ‘60s and ‘70s. 

That said, Joey’s innate musical knowledge and appreciation transcends specific eras and genres. He taps into an expansive wellspring of sound which he terms “Progressive Americana.” It’s a blues-infused style that’s also informed by jazz, roots, and Southern rock. With a voice that moves seamlessly from a gravelly rasp to a honey-smooth croon, he’s able to appeal to fans of both Van Morrison and the Marshall Tucker Band, even as his guitar riffs and lyrical finesse take his music into new terrains.

With several highly acclaimed albums to his credit — those being Live From Macon (2024), A Santa That Plays Guitar (2019), In the Shadow Of the Sun (2019), Six String Soldier (2016, So Far (2003), Mixture (2012), Ironies, Pain And The Light That Guides (1999), and Take A Walk In the Shadows (1993) —  the accolades have consistently followed. He was named Jazz Artist of the Year by the Georgia Music Awards, given multiple honors by the Atlanta Society of Entertainers, recognized as Reader’s Choice Award winner as singer/songwriter by 11th Hour Magazine, presented with the EATV Lifetime Achievement Award and honored with a Mayoral proclamation naming September 29, 2017 as “Joey Stuckey Alive Day” in his hometown of Macon.

The kudos don’t stop there. Famed producer Harold Bradley has called him “amazing.” Noted agent and manager Ian Copeland once said of him, “Joey is one of the most amazing guitarists I know,” while Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton keyboardist Chuck Leavell simply stated, “Dude's the greatest.” "Alan Parsons championed Stuckey as having "the best ears in the music business!”

Ultimately then, Joey’s life and his career are a testament to the power of music to unite people across boundaries, whether they’re physical, cultural, or even emotional. He demonstrates the fact that sound is a universal language, whether it’s shared on stage, in the studio, or at the podium. He sees it as a way to build community, while offering a sense of belonging and a reminder that even in the dark, connection is always possible.

“To me, music is a uniquely human expression, and it's all about telling stories that allow people to learn and grow and explore and bond,” he says. “I think that I can make a difference in the world by trying to make it slightly better than I found it when I got here — one person and one song at a time, doing it through his music.”

Awards

Jazz Artist of the Year by the Georgia Music Awards, given multiple honors by the Atlanta Society of Entertainers, recognized as Reader’s Choice Award winner as singer/songwriter by 11th Hour Magazine, presented with the EATV Lifetime Achievement Award and honored with a Mayoral proclamation naming September 29, 2017 as “Joey Stuckey Alive Day” in his hometown of Macon, Georgia.

Gear

Fender Stratocaster