Born and raised in Anniston Alabama, George’s earliest musical memory is listening to his uncle play Hank Williams songs. As a teenager, he immersed himself in the Southern Rock of the Allman Brothers and was deeply influenced by “outlaw” country music.  At Princeton University, he led “The George Dickel Band” to New York’s legendary Lonestar Café, where he shared the stage with Albert King, Etta James, and James Brown.

While touring in support of his first EP, he met  Pinetop Perkins and lived with his family in Chicago in 1985.  Then, after a couple of years as busker in Paris, returned to live in New Orleans, where he met and collaborated with Coco Robicheaux with whom he still works occasionally. George tapped Pinetop, R&B legend Rosco Gordon, & New Orleans veteran Charles "Honeyboy" Otis to work with him on his first CD.  By a strange twist of fate, George landed a roadie gig with The Beach Boys and moved briefly to LA where the record was cut.   “Pinetop and Friends” was released and shortly after George went to New York. There, he worked extensively with Dylan sideman and stride pianist extraordinaire, Howie Wyeth.  He later took a job with Omega / Vanguard Records and produced Pinetop’s seminal “Portrait of a Delta Bluesman”, which won the W.C. Handy Award, Blues Album of the Year.  Kilby’s third effort with Pinetop, “Live at 85” (Shanachie ‘99), is a red hot live CD which features George and his powerhouse horn section.  Also in ’99, George’s original sound was finally captured on “Spell it Out” (indie, out of print), which was instrumental in supporting several tours of Europe.  A subsequent self-titled CD, “George Kilby Jr” (’02, Baltazar, Denmark) is still available and contains much of the same material.
 
In 05, he wrote several songs with blind New Orleans Piano wizard Henry Butler and backed Henry on one tour of Europe, which got rave reviews. George’s next record, “Road Dog’s Holiday” ‘06, took his sound closer to his Alabama roots, and gave the band national and international radio exposure. The current CD, “Let the Melody Live On”, features Railroad Earth personnel, Pinetop, and members of the Tom Tom Club and Loup Garou Zydeco. George’s songwriting reaches a high point on this record; and the vocal and instrumental chops of the band shine brighter than ever. 

With the Road Dogs, he appears regularly at European festivals from Scandinavia to Ireland as well as extensive work on the East coast, with lots of gigs in the Big Apple and Catskill Mountains. He has been a fixture on Manhattan's downtown roots music scene for 20 years. The band can be seen frequently at BB King’s in Times Square on Sunday nights.