Bar Room Peacher: The Blues Of Jimmy Johnson

 Despite not starting his recording career until he was fifty years old, Jimmy Johnson has risen to become one of the windy city's finest bluesman. Johnson is that rare triple threat: a fine guitar player, great songwriter and the possessor of a soaring, soulful vocal delivery.

 Johnson was born into a musical family in 1928 in Holley Springs, Mississippi. His brother Syl Johnson rose to soul stardom in the 70's with recordings on Hi Records and sibling Mack Thompson was a bass player for Magic Sam. Johnson kept music as a hobby until the late 50's and early 60's when he started gigging on Chicago's West side.

 During the 60's Johnson played behind names like Otis Clay and Denise LaSalle cutting some of his own 45's along the way. After a number of years playing R&B Johnson fell back into the blues as Jimmy Dawkins rhythm guitarist in the early 70's. He toured Japan behind Otis Rush in 1975 which produced Rush's album So Many Roads — Live in Concert.

 It wasn't until the late 70's that Johnson's own recording career fell into place. It started with four tough sides on Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthology in 1978 followed by Johnson Whack's his first full length domestic release on the Delmark label. Johnson followed up by cutting a second Delmark record titled North/South (reissued in 1999) and the brilliant Bar Room Preacher on Alligator in 1983.

 Tragedy struck in 1988 when a van Johnson was driving swerved off the road in Indiana, killing bassist Larry Exum and keyboardist St. James Bryant. Partly due to the accident and the fickle nature of the record business, Johnson wouldn't find his way back in the studio until 1994. The result was I'm A Jockey a tough contemporary sounding blues record for the Verve label. In 1999 Johnson followed up with Every Road Ends Somewhere for the Ruf label. Most recently Delmark has released Pepper's Hangout a 1977 date that was slated for Johnson's debut but was never issued domestically until this year.

 Jimmy Johnson remains one of the best exponents of the Chicago blues style and is as an exciting live performer as his studio records suggest.

Essential Listening

Johnson Whacks (Delmark): One of the best Chicago blues records of the late 70's. Includes soulful gems like "I Need Some Easy Money", "Ashes In My Ashtray" and a fine version of Ernest Tubb's country classic "Drivin' Nails In My Coffin."

Bar Room Preacher (Alligator): Unlike his Delmark records this contains mostly covers. Still this is a tremendous outing including killer covers of "Little by Little", " "Cold, Cold Feeling", and "You Don't Know What Love Is."

I'm A Jockey (Verve): Despite a ten year absence from the studio, Johnson is in typically fine form on this session. Includes great originals like "Black & White Wall", "My Ring" and covers of McKinley Mitchell's "End of a Rainbow" and Wilson Pickett's "Engine Number 9."

Pepper's Hangout (Delmark): Recorded in 1977 this wasn't released domestically until 2000. This proves Johnson had it all together even back then. A set of mostly covers including great readings of "Same Old Blues", "Looking For My Baby" and "Riding In The Moonlight."