Artist:Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
Song:Whiskey Drinkin' Woman
Album:Country Sugar Papa
Blues guitarist Luther Johnson is best known for his stint with the Muddy Waters band in the 70s. But he's proven to be a very strong performer and is still touring today. He was born July 15, 1939 in Itta Bena, MS. By the time his family moved to Chicago in the 50s, Luther was already hooked on the blues. Luther plays what was called the West Side style of Chicago blues. He was heavily influenced by blues legend Magic Sam and played in his band for a couple of years. Johnson joined the Muddy Waters band in 1972. The Guitar Junior nickname was because Waters' former guitarist was also named Luther Johnson so it was just to avoid confusion. Johnson went solo in 1980 and moved to Boston. He got together with keyboard player Ron Levy and made several excellent recordings for Levy's Bullseye Blues label including this 1994 CD. Johnson moved to Telarc Records in 1996. He hasn't recorded since 2001 but he's still out touring the world with his entertaining brand of blues guitar. Here's Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson & Pinetop Perkins performing in Cambridge, MA in the 80s.
When i first saw Luther, it was at the Lowell Folk Festival. 1998 i think.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/performers.html
My favorite song by him is "if the blues was whiskey"
What was his record label? PoorHouseBlues???
Not sure about that. Luther has recorded mostly for Bullseye & Telarc and hasn't recorded since leaving Telarc in 2001. You may be referring to the 1999 CD Live At The Rynborn which was picked up for national distribution by MC Records. I believe Luther released that indepentently first.
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