Tab Benoit
A Louisiana guitarist who channels the raw, swampy soul of the bayou into electrifying blues that feels both ancient and urgently alive.
Born 1967 (age 59)·American guitarist and singer·Birthday: November 17·Generation X
Biography
Tab Benoit didn't just learn the blues; he was born into the wet, moss-draped landscape that birthed it. Hailing from Houma, Louisiana, his music is a direct transmission from the swamps, a gritty fusion of Delta traditions and the rolling, percussive rhythms of the Gulf Coast. More than a performer, Benoit became a fierce advocate for his vanishing homeland, co-founding the Voice of the Wetlands organization and using his stage to sound the alarm on coastal erosion. His guitar work is instantly recognizable—less about flashy technique and more about tone and feel, with a voice that carries the same weathered, emotional weight. He turned his deep regional roots into a universal language, proving the blues is not a museum piece but a living, breathing force of nature.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Tab was born in 1967, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Tab Was Born
The biggest hits of 1967
#1 Movie
The Jungle Book
Best Picture
In the Heat of the Night
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Tab's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1967Born
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1972Started school
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1980Became a teenager
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Could drive
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1985Could vote
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Turned 21
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1997Turned 30
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 40
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 50
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 59 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Founded the Voice of the Wetlands organization to advocate for Louisiana's endangered coastal ecosystems.
- Won a Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year in 2007.
- His album 'Brother to the Blues' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
- Inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame for his cultural and musical contributions.
Did You Know?
He is a licensed commercial airplane and helicopter pilot.
Benoit's first guitar was a Sears Silvertone bought with savings from his paper route.
He performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival over 20 times.
Early in his career, he worked on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
“The blues is about truth. If you ain't telling the truth, it ain't the blues.”
