JOHNNY WOODS

      

Johnny Woods (noviembre 1, 1917 a febrero 1, 1990) 

Woods, nació en un pequeño pueblo llamado Mississippi Looxahoma, justo al oeste de la carretera de Mississippi 35. Su armónica ganó notoriedad en la década de 1960 como un compañero de dúo con otros de blues revival fué un descubrimiento del guitarrista / cantante de Mississippi Fred McDowell. Grabaron juntos primero para r George Mitchell en 1967, por Chris Strachwitz Arhoolie Records (Rey del Country Blues V2), Swingmaster (blues de Johnny Woods) y en 1972 por Tom Pomposello y Fred Seibert en Oblivion Records (Mississippi Armónica). ( ver escrito parte posterior carátula su disco más abajo post ) 

Estilísticamente, la música de Woods surgió de la misma North Mississippi Fife donde Woods tocaba la batería dentro del  blues de de la tradicional con McDowell. Sin embargo, los problemas personales lo mantuvieron en sus raíces en el Delta, trabajando principalmente como un peón y aparcero.

Tras la muerte de McDowell en julio de 1973, Woods dejó de tocar  hasta que George Mitchell le emparejó de nuevo con otro descubrimiento tardío Mitchell delta del Mississippi, RL Burnside, discípulo McDowell. Juntos grabaron el álbum Swingmaster y video, 

Johnny Woods, murió en Olive Branch, Mississippi en 1990.
Podemos verlo en sendos videos con los citados Fred Mc Dowell  y R.L.Burnside 

                             

Harmonicaplayer from Mississippi Hill Country. Johnny Woods used to play with Fred McDowell. He was discovered in the sixties by George Mitchell, who recorded Woods and McDowell together.

                             

                              

Johnny Woods (November 1, 1917 – February 1, 1990) was an American blues singer and harmonica player in the North Mississippi hill country blues style.

Woods was born in a small Mississippi town called Looxahoma, just west of Mississippi Highway 35. His harmonica playing first gained notoriety in the 1960s as a duet partner with fellow blues revival discovery guitarist/singer Mississippi Fred McDowell. They recorded together first for George Mitchell in 1967, for Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie Records (King of the Country Blues V2), Swingmaster (Blues of Johnny Woods) and in 1972 for Tom Pomposello and Fred Seibert on Oblivion Records (Mississippi Harmonica).

Stylistically, Woods' music sprang from the same North Mississippi Fife and drum blues band tradition as McDowell's. However, personal problems kept him rooted in the Delta, primarily working as a farm hand and sharecropper.

After McDowell's death in July 1973, Woods faded away until George Mitchell paired him again with another late Mitchell Mississippi Delta discovery, R. L. Burnside, himself a McDowell disciple. Together they recorded the Swingmaster album and video, Going Down South.

Johnny Woods died in Olive Branch, Mississippi in 1990.

During the spring of 1972, I spent some time in Mississippi visiting with my friend and teacher Fred McDowell. Now Fred had promised to show me around and introduce me to a few of his musical cronies, and I told Fred that I’d especially like to meet his old harminica playing sidekick, Johnny WOoods. I had know about Johnny first form the way Fred, whenever the subject turned to harp players, would say, “backhome we got a boy named Little Johnny Wooodsman, that boy is a harmonica playin’ fool, sure as you’re born.” I had also known about him from the appearance he made with Fred at the 1969 Memphis Blues Festical (subsequent to which studio material was released), and also from some field recordings made by George Mitchell. A lot of people might remember Jojhnny solely for an Ann arbor Blues Festical “appearance-fiasco” in which he kind of screwed up the McDowell-Woods set. Johnny doesn’t have the best reputation for holding his liquor. After that he sort of drifted in oblivion (yeah).

Locating Mr. Woods was not the easiest task. Jojhnny used to live in the town Senatobia, which is about ten miles north of Como, Fred’s hometown. But Johnny is a farmer, and as such he must go where the work is. Word had reached us that he had re-located in the town of Olive Branch, just south of Memphis. Try as we micht we just couldn’t find him that April morning. Whenever we got to the place where he was supposed to be for sure, for sure he wasn’t there. Until finally acting upon a tip from a person who was acquatied with Johnny’s employer, we tracked him down to a farm on the proverbial outskirts of town.

It was about noon when we pulled up into the dirt driveway and headed up the long path towards an old shack. There on the proch I could make our the figure of a small gray-haired man peering primly at our approaching vehicle. Fred smiled, “That’s him, Tom.” Then I watched as Johnny’s face lit up when he realized it was Fred. The two hadn’t seen each other in months. Johnny called inside to his wife. “look who’s here. It’s Fred. Freddy McDowell!

We got out of the car. Fred made the introductions and Jojhnny invited us inside. We were fortunate to have caught Johnny during his lunch b reak. While we talked, Fred told me to play the tapes of the session that he and I had done in New York. And as the subject shifted to music, Joohnny confided that he hadn’t been playing much lately and besides he’s had to payn his last harp when things got tough. Luckily Fred had anticipated that this might be the case and before we started out he had told me to bring along a couple of my harmonicas. Well Johnny, I fuess it’s time for us to hear some of your sutff,” Fred smiled again at me as if to say ‘wait’ll you hear this,’ then he looked at Johnny, chuckled, and said, “Go on boy.” And Johnny blew, tapped his foot in rhythm and sang, “Well, gonna see my long haried do-o-ney…” I don’t exaggerate when I tell you that I was overwhelmed. When he finished, and I had expressed my entusiasm to him Johnny grinned as he said, “You know, it don’t sound like much to me.” Fred and I grinned too and I asked for an encore. Johnny came outside and I snapped a few pictures while he posed in front of Fred’s new Ponitac. An interesting contrast indeed. We shook hands and make our good-byes for it was about time fot Johnny to get back up on his tractor (note hard hat in cover photo).

Here then are the two harmonica solos exactly as Johnny Woods played them that day during his lunch break complete and unedited from the time I turned on the tape recorder.

– Tom Pomposello , appers at : 

THE OBLIVION RECORDS