Jimmy Johnson, the blues guitarist and singer, was born 77 years ago today.
Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, several of Johnson's brothers had careers in music. Among them are soul musician, Syl Johnson, and Magic Sam bassist Mack Thompson.
In his younger years, Johnson played piano and sang in gospel groups. He and his family moved to Chicago in 1950, where he worked as a welder and played guitar in his spare time.
He began playing professionally with Slim Willis in 1959, changing his last name to Johnson like his brother, Syl.
As a guitarist, he was influenced by both Buddy Guy and Otis Rush and played with Freddy King, Albert King, Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Eddy Clearwater.
In the 1960s, he played R&B music, working with Otis Clay, Denise LaSalle and Garland Green. By the late 1960s, he had released his first single.
By 1974, he performed the blues, working with Jimmy Dawkins and touring Japan with Otis Rush in 1975.
Johnson’s first solo material appeared on Alligator Records and Delmark Records in 1978-79, when he was fifty years old.
He was an award-winner at the first Blues Music Awards held in Memphis in November, 1980.
His career continued to pick up until December 2, 1988, when his touring van crashed in Indiana, killing his keyboardist, St. James Bryant, and bassist Larry Exum.
Johnson was injured and took an extended hiatus from the music industry, but returned to record for Verve Records in 1994.
In 2002, he recorded with his brother, Syl. He remained active and among other things toured Europe in 2009, playing both the UK as well as Copenhagen Blues Festival in Denmark.
On June 7, 2019, while performing at the 36th annual Chicago Blues Festival, Chicago Major Laurie Lightfoot officially declared it to be Jimmy Johnson Day. He died from kidney failure in 2019 at the age of 76.
Here, Johnson performs “Jockey” and “In the Midnight Hour” in 1994