JOHNNY DYER

    A los diecinueve años JOHNNY DYER se mudó de la plantación Rolling Fork en Mississippi hacia la costa Oeste donde se encontró con George " Harmónica " Smith , aprendió con él y tocaron juntos durante un periodo de tiempo  junto con Shakey Jake, Harmónica Fats y Rod Piazza. 

                                

                                                     
             

This song is from a 2003 album by Barry Levenson. Veteran blues guitarist Barry Levenson wrote all 11 selections for Hard Times Won, which co-stars Johnny Dyer on vocals and harmonica. The music ranges from lowdown Chicago blues to swinging jazz/blues with Mike Thompson's organ giving a soul-jazz feel to some of the instrumentals. Levenson's lyrics are intelligent, there is a surprising amount of variety on the songs even though they do stick to blues, and the musicianship is excellent. Levenson and Dyer in particular make for a great team, and the results are often exciting and are always quite spirited. This highly enjoyable set should appeal to both blues and jazz fans. ~ Scott Yanow

Recorded at Pacifica Studios, Los Angeles, California.

Personnel: Barry Levenson (guitar); Johnny Dyer (vocals, harmonica); Phil Krawzak, Jeff Big Dad Turmes (saxophone, horns); Mike Thompson (piano, organ); Dave Kida (drums); Mike Sandberg (percussion).

Audio Mixers: Mike Sandberg; Barry Levenson.

                                 

                                

Johnny Dyer (born December 7, 1938, Rolling Fork, Mississippi) is an American electric blues harmonicist and singer. He has received a nomination for a Blues Music Award, and been involved in a number of recordings in the last three decades, both as a solo performer and with other musicians.

Dyer grew up on the Stovall Plantation in Rolling Fork, and learnt to play the harmonica from the age of seven. His initial inspiration came from hearing Little Walter on a Nashville, Tennessee, based radio station, and by his teenage years Dyer was playing acoustic harmonica and had formed his own band. He started playing amplified harmonica in the early 1950s, when he first performed alongside Smokey Wilson

Dyer relocated to Los Angeles, California in January 1958, where he met George "Harmonica" Smith. Together they played concerts with a "father and son" billing. Dyer commented on that time stating, "Smith was the hottest thing around and the blues was really swinging! He taught me a lot. Everybody loved George." Following this Dyer set up his own combo, Johnny Dyer and the Blue Notes, and played with Jimmy Reed, J.B. Hutto, and Jimmy Rogers.

Times took a downturn for Dyer in the 1960s, and he stepped away from the music industry for some time. Finally appearing again in the 1980s, Dyer found work with other harmonica players, such as Shakey Jake Harris, Harmonica Fats (pseudonym for Harvey Blackston; 1927–2000), and Rod Piazza. Dyer released a couple of singles including "Overdose of Love" and, in 1983, issued the Johnny Dyer and the LA Jukes albumThe Scandinavian record label, Black Magic featured Dyer on their Hard Times: L.A. Blues Anthology compilation album.

Dyer later collaborated with guitarist Rick Holmstrom, and together they issued two albums on Black Top Records: Listen Up (1994) and Shake It! (1995). Listen Up included Dyer's cover version of the blues standard, "Driftin' Blues".The album, Jukin', also released in 1995, was a re-issue of Dyer's debut LP with additional tracks. It contained Dyer's version of "Baby What You Want Me to Do"

Dyer appeared on the bill at the Long Beach Blues Festival in 2000, where he sang alongside James Cotton. Over the years he has also been a featured performer on Mark Hummel's annual Blues Harmonica Blowout tours.

Dyer received a Blues Music Award nomination in 2004, in the 'Blues Song Of The Year' category, for the track "Hard Times Won." He has also spent time in recent years playing with The Mannish Boys, and has appeared on a number of their album releases.

Dyer's most recent album was Rolling Fork Revisited (2004), recorded with Mark Hummel. The album contained reworkings of songs by another Rolling Fork native, Muddy Waters.