A guitar player since his teenage years, he hung out at the Blues Box, a music club and cultural center in Baton Rouge run by guitarist Tabby Thomas. Playing guitar alongside Thomas, Raful Neal, Henry Gray and other high-profile regulars at the club, Benoit learned the blues first-hand from a faculty of living blues legends. He formed a trio in 1987 and began playing clubs in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He began touring other parts of the south two years later and started touring more of the United States in 1991- and he continues to this day.
Benoit landed a recording contract with the Texas-based Justice Records and released a series of well-received recordings, beginning in 1992 with Nice and Warm, an album that prompted comparisons to blues guitar heavyweights like Albert King, Albert Collins and even Jimi Hendrix. Despite the hype, Benoit has done his best over the years to maintain a commitment to his Cajun roots— a goal that often eluded him when past producers and promoters tried to turn him and his recordings in a rock direction, often against his better instincts. These Blues Are All Mine, released on Vanguard in 1999 after Justice folded, marked a return to the rootsy sound that he’d been steered away from for several years.
That same year, he appeared on Homesick for the Road, a collaborative album on the Telarc label with fellow guitarists Kenny Neal and Debbie Davies. Homesick not only served as a showcase for three relatively young but clearly rising stars, but also launched Benoit’s relationship with Telarc that came to fruition in 2002 with the release of Wetlands —arguably the most authentically Cajun installment in his entire ten-year discography.
On Wetlands, Benoit mixes original material like the autobiographical “When a Cajun Man Gets the Blues” and the driving “Fast and Free” with little-known classics like Li’l Bob & the Lollipops’ “I Got Loaded,” Professor Longhair’s “Her Mind Is Gone” and Otis Redding’s timeless “These Arms of Mine” (Tab’s vocal style has long been influenced by Redding).
Later in 2002, Benoit released Whiskey Store, a collaborative recording with fellow guitarist and Telarc labelmate Jimmy Thackery as well as harpist Charlie Musselwhite and Double Trouble—the two-man rhythm section of bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton that backed Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Benoit, in 2003, released Sea Saint Sessions, recorded at Big Easy Recording Studio (better known among musicians in the region as Sea Saint Studio) in New Orleans. In addition to Benoit and his regular crew—bassist Carl Dufrene and drummer Darryl White—Sea Saint Sessions includes numerous guest appearances by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Cyril Neville, Brian Stoltz and George Porter.
That same year, Benoit and Thackery took their dueling guitar show on the road and recorded a March 2003 performance at the Unity Centre for Performing Arts in Unity, Maine. The result was Whiskey Store Live, a high-energy guitar fest released in February 2004.
Benoit's 2005 release is Fever for the Bayou,which also includes guest appearances by Cyril Neville (vocals and percussion) and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (vocals).
An interview with Tab Benoit:
http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/interviews/tab_benoit.html
Next to Me
Tab Benoit Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can follow every notion that you can afford
And some day when you're feeling all alone and your thoughts turn back to
Home
Let them stray back my way
I hope you know your home is right here next to me
Just as long as you want it to be
And some night, lord you might hear me scream
As I'm caught in the arms of a fitful dream
But when you stand guilty of the crimes of love and I'm losin' you
That's one dream that I never want to come true
Hey, your home is right here next to me
Just as long as you want it to be
Your home is right here darlin', next to me, oh next to me
Your home is right here next to me
Just as long as you want it to be
I said your home is right here next to me, next to me
The lyrics of Tab Benoit's song, Next To Me, speak about the importance of home and companionship. The singer conveys a message that no matter where you go, your home will always be waiting for you right next to him. The song opens with the line, "You can travel over oceans and around the world, you can follow every notion that you can afford," which emphasizes the vastness of opportunities and possibilities in life. However, in the end, all this travelling and discovering new places can make one feel lonely, and it's when thoughts of home and familiarity come back to mind. The singer expresses his desire for the person he's singing to, to come back home and stay beside him.
In the second verse, the lyrics reveal a more vulnerable side of the singer, as he admits to having nightmares about losing his loved one. The lines "But when you stand guilty of the crimes of love and I'm losin' you, that's one dream that I never want to come true," highlight the fear of being abandoned by someone you love. However, he reassures the person by singing "Your home is right here next to me, just as long as you want it to be," reminding them of their place in his life and how much he values their companionship.
Overall, the lyrics of Next To Me paint a picture of a loving, welcoming home where there is always room for the person he's singing to. The song highlights the importance of companionship and having someone to come back to at the end of a long day.
Line by Line Meaning
You can travel over oceans and around the world
You have the freedom to explore the world and roam around as you wish
You can follow every notion that you can afford
You have the liberty to chase after all your desires and aspirations that you can afford
And some day when you're feeling all alone and your thoughts turn back to Home
When you feel lonely and long for the comfort of home
Let them stray back my way
Come back to me and find solace in my company
I hope you know your home is right here next to me
I want you to know that your true home is with me, by my side
Just as long as you want it to be
You can stay by my side for as long as you want
And some night, lord you might hear me scream
Sometimes, you might hear me scream out loud in my sleep
As I'm caught in the arms of a fitful dream
When I'm lost in a restless dream, struggling to escape
But when you stand guilty of the crimes of love and I'm losin' you
If you betray my trust and I'm losing you because of your unfaithfulness
That's one dream that I never want to come true
I hope I never have to face the reality of losing you due to a breach in trust
Hey, your home is right here next to me
I am reminding you that your true home is with me, by my side
Your home is right here darlin', next to me, oh next to me
You belong with me, my love, right beside me
Your home is right here next to me
I hope you understand that your place is with me, in my embrace
Just as long as you want it to be
You can stay with me for as long as you desire
I said your home is right here next to me, next to me
I am reiterating that your true abode is with me, by my side
Contributed by Benjamin K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.