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Johnny
Drummer
Johnny
Drummer was born Thessex Johns on March 1, 1938 in Alligator,
Mississippi, a small town twelve miles south of Clarksdale in the heart
of the Delta. There he saw musicians like Little Milton and Ike Turner
every weekend, and listened to his three brothers play hollow-box
guitars on long summer nights, learning all the blues, r&b, and
soul songs of the time. Soon he began singing, and at age seven joined
the Kelly Brothers Band in Alligator.
His
career as a musician
expanded when he joined the Army and learned to play drums. In his
three-year army career, he sat in on drums with bands that came around,
honing his skills as a musician. Upon leaving the military in 1959, he
moved to Chicago, where he began sitting in with Lovie Lee, Big Walter
Horton, and Carey Bell at a bar on the corner near his house. He soon
began playing drums in Lovie’s band, and later moved on to
play with guitarist Eddie King.
In
1962 he cut a record for
Wonderful Records, which featured Eddie King, Willie Black, Roy
Johnson, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Otis Spann. In
1965 he got the chance to play with BB King at a club when
BB’s drummer failed to show up for the gig. In 1966 he went
to see Muddy Waters, and was asked to sit in on bass. He was later
asked to tour with Muddy, but declined his offer, uneasy at the
prospect of life on the road. He started his band and gained local
notoriety in the late 1960s as the leader of a band hired by touring
soul blues acts passing through Chicago. In the 1960s he taught himself
to play the electronic keyboard and now makes this his primary
instrument.
In
recent years Johnny has
released three albums for the Earwig Music label. He performs
regularly at Chicago venues, in addition to performing internationally
at festivals and blues clubs, including acclaimed performances at the
Chicago Blues Festival, Pocono Blues Festival, University of Illinois
Blues Festival, and several others in the US, Canada, and Europe.
Quotes
“Drummer
has managed a distinctive
sound in a sound-alike idiom…” –Living
Blues
“Drummer’s
suave vocals, front and center, are rich
and full of character…” -Blues Revue
Recognition
2008
- Best R&B Act in Chicago - Chicago Reader
Press
Big City Blues
(Feb/Mar '08)
NUVO.NET
(March 7, 2007)
Big City Blues (Dec.
'06/Jan. '07)
Soul Bag (French)
(Sept. '06)
Big City Blues (Dec.
'00/Jan. '01)
| Listen (High Speed Internet) |
| I'm Gonna Sell My Cadillac, and Buy Myself a
Mule |
[MP3] |
Keep It A Secret |
[MP3] |
| Rockin' In the Juke Joint |
[MP3] |
You Got Trouble |
[MP3] |
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Albums |
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