By Rosalind Cummings-Yeates
JIMMY'S LIFE MANTRA
C
hicago has long been noted for excep-
tional musicians, and Jimmy
Johnson is one of them. With a back-
ground steeped in gospel, R&B, and classic
Chicago blues, Jimmy serves up soaring
vocals and gutsy riffs that belie his 90 years.
A local legend who didn’t technically start
focusing on blues until the ‘70s, Jimmy is
making sure his talents are acknowledged
Every Day of Your Life reflects a man that still
has a lot to say and shows why he’s earned
his status.
Opening with the hip-shaking original
romp of the title track, Jimmy sets the pace
for an album that offers excitement and
depth. The tune’s refrain, “live every day
like it’s your last,” is clearly the musician’s
life mantra. Soulful backup vocals by
Jimmy Johnson
with his first solo album in 20 years, Every
Day of Your Life (Delmark Records). The
album is filled with eclectic energy and pas-
sionate playing, signaling that this blues
decade is off to a good start.
He was born Jimmy Thompson in Holly
Springs, Mississippi. Like a lot of his
Magnolia state contemporaries, Jimmy was
surrounded by blues culture and casual
musicians who would become legends. His
father played harmonica and some guitar,
but it was his good friend that inspired him
to pick up the instrument that he would
become noted for. Matt “Guitar” Murphy
started playing guitar when they were ado-
lescents in Mississippi, and this made Jimmy
ditch his previous focus on the piano and
start playing guitar as well. The Great
Migration led his family to move first to
Memphis, where Jimmy formed a gospel
group and performed in the local circuit. But
his interest in gospel dimmed when he
moved to Chicago with his family in 1950.
His younger brothers Syl and Mac estab-
lished themselves in the Chicago blues scene
first. Mac played bass for their Chicago
neighbor Magic Sam, and Syl changed his
name to Syl Johnson and lit up the charts
with sizzling soul-blues hits.
Jimmy sang in another gospel group and
even joined a doo-wop group before decid-
ing that he wanted to play guitar profession-
ally. He sat in with fiends like Magic Sam,
Otis Rush, and Freddie King and honed his
guitar skills. He formed his own group, the
Luck Hearts, and started recording with
them and playing regularly as a sideman in
the storied South Side and West Side clubs of
the ‘60s. When the clubs started closing in
the mid-’70s, Jimmy worked as Jimmy
Dawkins’ rhythm guitarist and then as Otis
Rush’s guitarist. With his skills sharpened
from playing behind blues masters, Jimmy
stepped out as a master in his own right,
recording his iconic debut Johnson’s Whacks
(Delmark) in 1979. He recorded more
albums in the ‘80s and ‘90 and was inducted
into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2016. With
records, awards and honors piled up; you’d
think Jimmy would get comfortable with his
revered blues status, but no. The music on
14 illinoisentertainer.com february 2020
Typhanie Monique delivers an extra punch.
The hard-driving “I need You So Bad” and
"Somebody Loan Me A Dime” show off his
masterful fretwork. “My Ring” throws in a
surprise with a soft reggae undertone.
“Down In The Valley” pulses with an infec-
tious rhythm, thanks to backing by local
greats Rico McFarland, Roosevelt Purifoy,
and Pookie Styx. But the show-stoppers are
the fiery instrumental, “Better When It’s
Wet” and the gospel-heavy closer, "Lead Me
On." Chicago is filled with living blues leg-
ends, and Jimmy Johnson reminds you that
he is one of them.
On the other end of the spectrum of blues
musicians who have long made their mark is
Southern Avenue, a powerhouse Memphis
band that continues to earn acclaim with
their sophomore release, Keep On (Concord
Records). Nurtured on Memphis’ famed
blues, soul, and gospel sound, the young
group took their name from the street that
runs through the city to “Soulsville,” the
original home of Stax Records. The group
gathered all the grit, soul, and blues from
this heritage and kicked down doors with
the self-titled debut in 2017. The album
climbed to the top of the iTunes blues chart
and earned them a Blues Music Award for
Best Emerging Artist.
Keep On showcases why the quintet is
heralded as blues innovators. The title track
opener practically combusts with heat. An
uplifting anthem about facing down obsta-
cles, guitar hooks, and horns are joined with
foot stomps and claps to blend the group’s
polished yet rootsy sound. Lead singer
Tierinni Jackson tears into the flowing blues
and soul rhythms of ‘Whiskey Love” so that
the pain of the abusive affair she’s trapped in
is palpable. The tune is a highlight in a CD
packed full of them. “The Tea I Sip” mixes
nasty fretwork with bluesy horns and a sul-
try vocal as Tierinni pushes aside the haters
and reassures her man. But if you have to
pick just one standout, “We’ve Got The
Music,” a virtuosic duet with Stax icon
William Bell and Tierinni lays it all out. The
song shows how the foundation and the
fresh future come together seamlessly, and
it’s never sounded better than this.