Personnel includes: Delbert McClinton (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica); Todd Sharp (acoustic & electric guitars, baritone guitar, background vocals); Gary Nicholson (acoustic guitar); James Pennebaker (guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, background vocals); Bill Campbell (guitar); Kevin McKendree (piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Mark Jordan (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Glen Worf (upright bass); George Hawkins (bass); Lynn Williams (drums); Steve Earle, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Billy Joe Shaver, Marcia Ball, Ray Benson, Guy Clark, Jessi Alexander, Dee Dee Day (background vocals).

Producers: Gary Nicholson, Delbert McClinton.

Recorded at Sound Emporium, Nashville, Tennesee.

ROOM TO BREATHE was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

Forty years into a career that's found him going from teaching a young John Lennon how to play harmonica to winning a 2002 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Recording, Delbert McClinton continues his extraordinary journey with the stellar ROOM TO BREATHE. Roots-rock devotees will find plenty to feast on, ranging from the lush, B.B. King-flavored "Everything I Know About The Blues" and pounding fat-back rockabilly of "Blues About You Baby" to the organ-driven shuffle "Same Kind Of Crazy."

Other entrees to feast on at this considerable buffet of tasty tunes are the stride-piano-soaked stroll "Ain't Lost Nothin'" (featuring a ripping Kim Wilson harp solo), simmering funk of "The Rub," Little Feat-like boogie of "Money Honey," and groove-soaked jump-blues of "New York City." The centerpiece of this wide-ranging outing is "Lone Star Blues," a twangy all-star tip of the hat to Texas featuring the talents of Steve Earle, The Flatlanders, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, and Rodney Crowell. ROOM TO BREATHE adds another considerable notch to Delbert McClinton's impressive output.

Rolling Stone (10/02, p.72) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...[Delbert McClinton] has rarely sounded as comfortable as he does here..."

Uncut (5/03, p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...ROOM TO BREATHE finds the Texan veteran rocking harder than ever....McClinton is a true original who makes roots music in its earthiest form..."

Living Blues (5/03, p.82) - "...It's a hell of a romp: the rockers rock like there's no tomorrow....Few contemporary artists can evoke this particular kind of blue-collar American roots-music better than Delbert McClinton..."

Mojo (Publisher) (3/03, p.107) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...This raw, rowdy set greets the fates with a shuffling beat, a glarey old whiskey grin and the usual Texan disrespect for country/R&B genre frontiers..."