Johnson, Big Jack

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Big Jack Johnson

Guitarist, singer

Blues singer and guitarist Big Jack Johnson is known for his Delta Blues style, and he has been compared to Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Unlike other blues singers, Johnson has remained in the Delta, retaining a classic style and a down-to-earth vibe.

In an article posted on the PBS Network's website, a reviewer noted that Johnson's music "has a raw, country feel that city bands somehow can never capture," and praised Johnson's "earthy, knowing" vocal style. In the Arkansas Leader Garrick Feldman commented, "Jack Johnson is surely one of the region's greatest living bluesmen and is as good as any of those blues giants from the past." Feldman also wrote, "His blues rocks and swings and moves you like a thunderstorm blasting through the night."

"Country—That's About All I Heard"

Johnson's father was a guitarist and fiddler who played at weddings, picnics, and parties in his home town of Clarksdale, Mississippi. However, the family music was not blues but, unexpectedly, country. Johnson told Mark Jordon in Weekly Wire, "My favorite artists growing up were guys like Hank Williams, Roy Acuff. Yeah, man. Country—that's about all I heard." His family listened to the Grand Ole Opry country music show on the radio. He was not allowed to hear blues; there was no blues music on the television at that time, and none on the radio. To hear blues, people had to go to juke joints, and he was not allowed to go to them. So, he told Jordon, "On summer nights we'd take the radio outside and you could hear [country singer] Grandpa Jones hollering all over the neighborhood, 'Howwwdeee.'"

By the time he was 13, Johnson had begun sitting in with his father's band, playing acoustic guitar. When he was 18, his love of B.B. King's music inspired him to make the switch to electric guitar. In 1966 Johnson joined with drummer Sam Carr and multi-instrumentalist Frank Frost to play at the Savoy Theatre in Clarksdale. Johnson told Jordan, "It was just like we were meant for each other when we met. We've got something together that's a lot bigger than when we're apart." They played first as Frank Frost and the Nighthawks and then as Sam Carr and the Blues Kings, a collaboration that continues on and off to this day.

In 1979 Johnson recorded with Frost and Carr again, this time calling themselves the Jelly Roll Kings; this was the first time Johnson's vocals were recorded. The Jelly Roll Kings were one of the hottest bands in the Delta region, playing at juke joints and making the area justifiably famous for its unique style. On the PBS website, a reviewer described a Jelly Roll Kings gig: "As Carr and Frost hold down a grinding, boiling beat, Johnson plays electric slide with the dirty, greasy feel of Elmore James and shouts verses that sound as old as the land, telling stories about roosters that creep into the wrong henhouse and lovers walking down long, lonesome roads."

Solo Career

In 1988 Johnson finally recorded an album, The Oil Man, under his own name, with the Earwig label; the title came from his nickname, earned on the job as an oil company truck driver. This album showed Johnson's juke-joint roots. His next album, Daddy, When Is Mama Comin Home?, was more experimental and did not sell as well as The Oil Man; it featured backing horns and a style similar to that of B.B. King.

In 1992 Johnson released The Memphis Barbecue Sessions on the M.C. label. The album included 13 tracks, mingling original songs with traditional blues favorites. In the Austin Chronicle, Margaret Moser wrote that although the music on the album was not new, "real blues fans don't go looking for new frontiers, they're satisfied with the lowdown."

In 1996 Johnson recorded We Got to Stop This Killin' with backing by the Oilers (Rodger Montgomery on guitar, Maury Saslaff on bass, and Chet Woodward on drums). Until this album came out, Johnson had made ends meet by driving for an oil company, but after this release, he had enough success with his music to stop driving and play full time.

Although Johnson's music has a traditional feel, many of his lyrics discuss contemporary social issues. For example, on Mama, When Is Daddy Comin' Home he talked about AIDS and domestic abuse, and on We Got to Stop This Killin' he lamented the senseless violence that seems to be increasing in many communities—topics that other blues musicians had seldom explored.

Johnson told Jordan that he was aware that other blues musicians did not discuss these contemporary issues. He said, "I just got off on another track. I'm just trying to be a different guy … I always keep my roots in the blues and stuff, but I'm just trying to be myself, come up with something new so people can relate to what I'm doing."

Meanwhile, Johnson, Frost, and Carr continued to perform together occasionally, while also pursuing their solo careers. In 1987 and 1991 they reunited for the Chicago Blues Festival, and in 1996 they joined together again for the Jelly Roll Kings' CD Off Yonder Wall, released on the Fat Possum label.

In 2002 Johnson released Big Jack Johnson With Kim Wilson: The Memphis Barbecue Sessions. Also featured on the album was piano player Joe Willie "Pine Top" Perkins. On the album, the three presented classic acoustic blues, the kind of songs Johnson played in juke joints as a young man.

Johnson has been recognized for his musical achievements. In 1994 he was named Best Live Performer by Living Blues magazine, and in 1995 the magazine named him the Most Outstanding Blues Musician. He has been nominated for two Handy Awards for We Got to Stop This Killin'. Unlike many blues players, Johnson stayed in the Delta region, where he can still be found playing in local clubs. He has traveled to Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, and other countries, as well as all over the United States, but always returns home. A Deltaboogie.com reviewer declared, "Big Jack spends a lot of time on the road with his band but occasionally during a lull you can catch him at home in one of the jukes around Clarksdale, Mississippi. That's Blues at its best."

Selected discography

The Oil Man, Earwig, 1988.
Daddy, When Is Mama Comin Home?, Earwig, 1989.
We Got to Stop This Killin', MC Records, 1996.
The Memphis Barbecue Sessions, M.C., 2002.

For the Record …

Born July 30, 1940, in Clarksdale, MS.

Performed with Sam Carr and Frank Frost as Frank Frost and the Nighthawks, Sam Carr and the Blues Kings, and the Jelly Roll Kings, 1966–; began solo career with The Oil Man, 1988; released Daddy, When Is Mama Comin Home?, 1989; released We Got to Stop This Killin', 1996; released The Memphis Barbecue Sessions, 2002.

Awards: Living Blues Best Live Performer, 1994; Living Blues Most Outstanding Blues Musician, 1995.

Addresses: Record company—M.C. Records, P.O. Box 1788, Huntington Station, New York, NY 11746.