Guitar Junior - Biography
By J Poet
Grammy winning blues singer and guitarist Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson first became famous as the guitarist in the Muddy Waters Band, where he worked from 1972 to 1979. He is sometimes confused with Luther "Georgia Boy" Johnson, who also played with Waters and Luther "Houserocker" Johnson.
Johnson was born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, in 1939, the only boy in a family of four sisters. His parents were poor and Johnson attended school part time; most days he had to work on the farm to help support the family. He got his first guitar when he was 11, and by 13 he was one of the stars in his church choir. His first band was a gospel group, The Spirit of Minter City. At 16, he headed north to make it in Chicago.
Johnson’s older sister helped him find a job in the house band at the Rock'N'Roll Inn. He soon became a regular player on the scene and worked with Tall Milton Shelton and Magic Sam. He developed a unique style that combined fat distorted chords and stinging lead lines and earned the nickname Guitar Junior. In 1972, Muddy Waters hired him and he stayed with Waters until 1979. He made his first solo album, Luther's Blues, for the French Black & Blue label in 1976 while on tour with Waters. He also sat in on several albums by Washington DC’s Nighthawks including Jacks & Kings: Full House (1979 Adelphi.)
After leaving Waters' band, Johnson moved to Boston and put together Guitar Junior and the Magic Rockers. His first post Waters solo effort, Doin' the Sugar Too (1984 Rooster, 1997 Bullseye Blues) featured Ron Levy on piano and the Roomful of Blues horns. His contribution to Blues Explosion (1984 Atlantic) recorded live at the Montreux Festival's Blues Night, won him a Best Traditional Blues Recording Grammy Award that same year.
His next album with the Magic Rockers, I Want to Groove With You (1990 Bullseye Blues), was hailed as a tough urban blues classic and he followed up with It's Good to Me (1992 Bullseye Blues) featuring Gordon Beadle on sax, and Country Sugar Papa (1994 Bullseye Blues), which showed his growing strength as a songwriter. After moving to Telarc he cut the 16 track opus Slammin' on the West Side (1996 Telarc) which included New Orleans funk, jump blues, Chicago rockers and traditional acoustic guitar and voice numbers. He continued to smoke on Got to Find a Way (1998 Telarc), and Talkin' About Soul (2001 Telarc.) Johnson currently is living in semi-retirement in New Hampshire, but appears sporadically with his Magic Rockers throughout the northeast.
