C.W. Stoneking is an Australian blues musician. Stoneking was born in Katherine to Californian hippie parents who had met at a music festival. His parents separated, and he was brought up by his father, a teacher in the Aboriginal community of Papunya. His interest in the blues was sparked while a student at Sydney's Balmain High School. He stumbled across some of his father's blues tapes. At this time one of his classmates was Alex Lloyd, also a blues fan, and they sometimes jammed together.