There’s a video of a six-year-old Quinn Sullivan on the Ellen DeGeneres show playing a Fender guitar and belting out “Twist & Shout..” After his performance, Ellen gave him a brand new Gibson ES-35, which surprised the hell out of the kid.
Quinn has since grown a few years and has shared the stage with Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Los Lobos, The Roots, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi and Joe Bonamassa, and he opened for B.B. King, who later invited him to play his treasured “Lucille” guitar. He played several editions of the Experience Hendrix Tour, backed by Jimi’s original bassist Billy Cox and made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Oprah, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Conan and revisited The Ellen DeGeneres show.
Tom Hambridge calls Quinn “a sponge who soaks up everything that’s around him,” adding, “he’s listening all the time and he just so happens to be around great artists. Every time he plays, it’s a little deeper. Buddy Guy is, of course, his mentor, so he channels Buddy’s over-the-top reckless abandon.” That’s completely understandable, as Buddy has, more than once, advised Quinn, “Just go out there and show them why you’re here… make them remember you.”
