Joe Bonamassa Pays Tribute to Tim Curry, the Original Voice of “Sloe Gin”

Tim Curry’s death at 80 has surfaced a lesser-known chapter of his career. Aside from the film roles that defined him, Curry recorded sporadically. His 1978 debut album, Read My Lips, included a song called “Sloe Gin,” written by Bob Ezrin and Michael Kamen and buried on side two. Joe Bonamassa turned that track into a signature piece two decades later.

Bonamassa addressed the connection directly on Instagram. He wrote that many people don’t know Curry cut the original version. Producer Kevin Shirley called him 20 years ago and said he had found “the perfect desperate blues song.” The 2007 cover, the title track of Bonamassa’s album of the same name, changed his career trajectory, by his own account. He also noted Curry’s version was “bold, beautiful and featured the mastery of Dick Wagner on guitar.”

The song’s journey explains why Bonamassa still places it at the center of his live sets. At eight-plus minutes, the recording pairs down-and-out angst with patient, stinging solo work. Bonamassa told Total Guitar in 2011 that “Sloe Gin” was probably his biggest song. The tribute underscores how a track from an actor’s sporadic music career became enduring blues-rock material.