Curtis Salgado

Curtis Salgado (born February 4, 1954, in Everett, Washington, United States) is a Portland, Oregon-based blues, blues rock, and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist.

Career Salgado began his career leading The Nighthawks, based in Eugene, Oregon. He then joined forces with Robert Cray and sang and played harmonica in The Robert Cray Band for six years, including singing on Cray's debut album, released in 1980. Salgado and Cray parted ways in 1982. Salgado went on to front Roomful of Blues, singing and touring with them from 1984 through 1986. Returning to Oregon, he formed Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos in 1991 on the JRS label. The band opened for The Steve Miller Band during the summer of 1992. In 1995, Curtis spent a short stint as the lead singer with the band Santana. In 1997, he and Portland guitarist Terry Robb toured with Miller to promote their album Hit It 'n Quit It, including an appearance with Miller on the NBC television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien where Salgado and Robb performed their original composition "Bitter Tears." He signed with Shanachie Records in 1999 and released four albums on that label, before signing with Chicago's Alligator Records in 2012.

Salgado was the inspiration behind John Belushi's creation of the Blues Brothers characters in the late 1970s. In 2013, he won the Blues Music Award for the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, Soul Blues Male Artist and Soul Shot won Soul Blues Album of the Year.

In 2013, Salgado was nominated for a Blues Music Award in four separate categories. In 2017, Salgado won three Blues Music Awards in different categories. At the 2023 Blues Music Awards, Salgado was named as 'Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year'. In 2025, Curtis won the Blues Music Award for Soul Blues Male Singer and his album Fine By Me won for Soul Blues Album.