“Compton Maddux was born in NYC but the country in him comes straight outta Compton - right from the DNA. He is a true country singer from the most urbane and densely populated area of the nation. He’s sort of urbane country.
As my wife said, “You know why he’s not famous? He lives in Nyack! He should live in Austin or Memphis or Nashville.”
Both of Mr. Maddux’s discs stink of excellence, including the musicianship, which features the fine guitar licks of Jeff Golub and Jim Lauderdale on "Feet of Clay" and the brilliant fiddling of Allison Cornell (Shania Twain) on "Dirt Simple."
- Glenn O’Brien - GQ Style Blog
I have recorded a lot of music. I have a good 70 songs professionally mastered and 2 complete albums. The first is FEET OF CLAY. This album was executive produced by a Dutch producer and features performances by such notable artists as Richie Havens, Jeff Golub, John Levanthal, Jim Lauderdale and Lucy Kaplansky. It was produced by Steve Gaboury who is now Cindy Lauper’s musical director. This is a beautifully recorded work. The second album DIRT SIMPLE contains the award winning Black Violin and Designated Driver. DIRT SIMPLE features performances by Alison Cornell who played fiddle with Shania Twain and Suzanne Vega. Compton Maddux has been recognized by CMT, NSAI, Gary Allen, Deena Miller & Glenn O’Brien for his country rock singing & songwriting.
Out of over 4,000 NSAI entries Compton’s song "Black Violin" placed in the top 15 and was a 2008 CMT NSAI Listener's Choice Finalist.
"Black Violin" was also selected by Gary Allen (JJ Cale/Charlie Daniels Band) as the winner of the Tennessee Concerts April 2008 Song of the Month Contest. Gary's comment was "Man, you win hands down - Simply the best song and best submission.”
"Black Violin" has received Honorary Status from the Great American Song Contest.
Compton was hand-picked by Deena Miller (Daughter of Jimmy/Rolling Stones Producer) to kick off the "R U Man ENUFF" portion of her acclaimed Chick Singer Night. He was the first man ever to perform in this series.
Compton performed in Memphis at The North American Folk Alliance.
Returning to New York he opened with his band, Dirt Simple, for Nanci Griffith at The Lincoln Theater in Hartford CT.
Compton traveled copiously with the international performance organization Project Troubadour playing in Central and South America, Africa and Asia. Living in NYC he played numerous venues most notably the Lone Star. A few years back a Dutch producer saw him saw him play at Sun Mountain Cafe which led to the making and release of his 1st album FEET OF CLAY. This album featured guest spots by John Leventhal, Richie Havens, Lucy Kaplansky, Jeff Golub and Jim Lauderdale. Compton penned all the tunes, sang and played acoustic and slide guitars. Later he played 110 nights/ 1 night a week for two years with his co writer Paul Jay at the BMW Bar in Manhattan. Says Compton, "There is nothing like a continuous live gig to hone your writing and performance. This gig allowed me to get smaller and less dependent on production. My next record came directly out of that experience. (Right out of Compton) I didn't want to build tracks/ I wanted to capture a performance.” That album is entitled Dirt Simple.