Part I - Talk Interview - The Life & Musical Career of Blues Music legend, Luther Guitar Junior Johnson (1939-2022) In January 2020, we were blessed to spend some time with Luther, who was always a gracious & honored guest at the home of BRI's Audrey Michelle & Michael Wolf.
In this part 1 of 2 Luther tells us about his life, starting from the beginning in Mississippi. At the age of 13 he received his first guitar from his parents who were fans of Muddy Waters, not knowing that later in his life he would go on to play guitar in the Muddy Waters Band. He learned how to play guitar from his uncle, who he paid 15 cents for lessons. Making his way to Chicago in the 1950's where he played in pop up basement juke joints with players like, Robert Nighthawk, Howlin' Wolf, Lil' Walter, Elmore James & many others. (You can only imagine what that scene was like!) The story goes on from there so, you will just have to listen to hear the rest of Luther's incredible life story. You will hear jokes & lots of playful laughter which was always in abundance when you were in Luther's company.
Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson, who hails from Itta Bena Mississippi (also the birthplace of B.B. King) A West Side Chicago guitarist, had a storied career, including a stint with The Muddy Waters Band. He had 21 albums, was in countless music videos, made hundreds of recordings & appeared with John Lee Hooker, Big Walter Horton, Pinetop Perkins, Calvin Jones & Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith in the original 1980 Blues Brothers Movie. ‪@thebluesbrothers7474‬
In part 2 of this interview, the musical portion, you may notice that Luther is playing an electric custom guitar by Delaney Guitars. This guitar was originally designed for & owned by, blues man, Mike Zito. It is an honor to have Luther play & to have signed this one of a kind instrument made by Mr. Michael Delaney in Texas, USA. ‪@ValDelaneyGuitars‬
We give our love & sincere thanks to the late Michael Shivvers of The Blues Roots Digital Archive, our dear friend, & fellow blues music documentarian who passed suddenly in 2020. Mike & Luther traveled The United States together by car with their gear in tow from gig to gig promoting, 'Won’t Be Back No More,’ Luthers newest & final album. An acoustic recording with with a whopping 17 tracks & 8 new original tunes. Luther & Michael recorded the album, at Luther’s home in Wildwood, Florida. They both stayed with Audrey & Michael on this trip, it was an honor to host these two incredible, talented humans. ‪@MichaelShivvers_BluesArchive‬
Your Host: Jesse Finkelstein
Audio mix-down & video production by Audrey Michelle for BRI
Videography & audio recording by Audrey Michelle & Michael Wolf ‪@datflys‬ & ‪@audreymichelle6436‬
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