LITTLE JOHNNY JONES ( II )

   

Little Johnny Jones (born Johnnie Jones, November 1, 1924 – November 19, 1964) was an American Chicago blues pianist and singer, best known for his work with Tampa Red, Muddy Waters and Elmore James.

Jones was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1924, and was a cousin of Otis Spann. He arrived in Chicago in 1945 in the company of Little Walter and "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and soon replaced pianist Big Maceo Merriweather in Tampa Red's band after Merriweather suffered a stroke, which paralysed his right hand. Like several other Chicago pianists of his era, his style was heavily influenced by that of Merriweather, from whom he had learned and for whom he played piano after Merriweather's stroke.

Jones recorded for Aristocrat Records, and his 1949 side "Big Town Playboy" is regarded as a classic of the genre. It was covered by the guitarist Eddie Taylor in 1955. Jones later backed Muddy Waters on harmonica and recorded (on piano and vocals) with Waters for Aristocrat Records in 1949.From 1952 to 1956 he played and recorded with Elmore James, and also played on sessions by Albert King, Jimmy Rogers and others, as well as occasionally recording under his own name. In later years he worked with Howlin' Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold, Junior Wells, and Magic Sam, among others.

Popular with audiences, Jones was a heavy drinker and had a reputation as a wild character. According to Homesick James, who worked and toured with them in the 1950s, "Elmore and Johnnie used to just have a fight every night".

Jones married his wife, Letha, in 1952. He died of bronchopneumonia in Cook County Hospital, and was interred at Restvale Cemetery in November 1964.

On May 14, 2011, the fourth annual White Lake Blues Festival took place at the Howmet Playhouse Theater, in Whitehall, Michigan. The event was organized by executive producer Steve Salter, of the nonprofit organization Killer Blues, to raise monies to honor Jones's unmarked grave with a headstone. The concert was a success, and a headstone was placed in June 2011.

              

                                                 
           

                                                 
          

    ODIE PAYNE, LITTLE JOHNNY JONES, WILLIE MABON, BIG BILL SAM, SAM    
    DAWSON 


                                  
              

   WITH HIS WIFE LETHA 



                               
              

Johnny Jones era un pianista de sesión y side-man de Muddy Waters, Howlin 'Wolf, Jimmy Reed y Magic Sam. Era considerado como un pianista bastante bueno dentro del estilo barrelhouse cuando él llegó a Chicago desde  Jackson MS, a la edad de 22, y muy  pronto empezó a tocar con Tampa Red que tenía un sentido especial para agenciarse talentos . El pianista de Red, Big Maceo, sufrió un derrame cerebral en 1946, y Little Johnny lo sustituyó en la banda.Cuando Maceo se mostró incapaz de tocar de nuevo, cantó en algunos discos con Johnny en el teclado, utilizando al joven Otis Spann en otras pistas,  los tres tocarían en diferentes clubs juntos 

Johnny grabó con Muddy Waters en sus primeras sesiones en Aristocrat Records, y cuando Leonard Chess se hizo cargo de la etiqueta, Johnny firmó como artista en solitario, pronto mostrando su sutil  forma de composición y sus grandes habilidades vocales. Muddy le devolvió el favor tocando  en diferentes temas del disco en solitario de Johnny, cuyo "Big Town Playboy" era un clásico genuino y que más tarde resultaría ser un gran éxito para Eddie 'Playboy' Taylor. En 1951, Johnny se unió a Elmore James, y durante la mayor parte de los años cincuenta,  se les  podía encontrar regularmente en el escenario en el SILVIO'S CLUB  en el West Side