Song:The Mojo
Album:The Mojo 1951-1954
J.B. Lenoir (pronounced La-Nor) was successful on the Chicago blues scene in the 50s. and his best recordings were probably on J.O.B. Records in the early 50s. Unfortunately he died prematurely so he is somewhat forgotten. He was born Mar. 5, 1929 in Monticello, MS. JB was his given name. His father taught him to play guitar. Blind Lemon Jefferson was one of Lenoir's early influences. He moved to Chicago in 1949 and after a couple of singles for Chess, Lenoir signed with Joe Brown's J.O.B. Records. Lenoir was known for his showmanship and his high pitched voice. He frequently wore a zebra patterned jacket on stage. He also wrote social commentary like Eisenhower Blues. He first recorded The Mojo in 1953. The song is also called The Mojo Boogie. His band at the time included Sunnyland Slim on piano, Alfred Wallace on drums and J.T. Brown on tenor sax. Of course Slim was a Chicago blues pioneer. Brown was a Chicago session musician who also played with Elmore James. You can get all of Lenoir's J.O.B. recordings on this comp. Lenoir moved to Parrot Records in 1954 and had his only chart single with Mamma Talk To Your Daughters in 1956. He also recorded for Checker, Shad and VeeJay. By the early 60s, Lenoir gave up on being a full time musician and he worked in the kitchen at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Then Willie Dixon rediscovered Lenoir and took him on tour. J.B. Lenoir died on Apr. 29, 1967 at age 38 as a result of injuries he suffered in a car accident. Lenoir was featured in Martin Scorsese's series The Blues and he was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2011. Here's a video of The Mojo by J.B. Lenoir.
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