Johnny Jones

Born
1936 
Active Decades
19001020304050607080902000 
 
by Richard J. Skelly
Guitarist and singer/songwriter Johnny Jones writes and sings about thoroughly modern themes in a tradition-based blues style. The Nashville-based Jones is one of a handful of veteran, virtuoso bluesmen who are local heroes on the Nashville blues scene, which is surprisingly healthy given Nashville's legacy as a home for country music.



Jones was born in 1936 and moved to Memphis at age 13. He moved with his mother to Chicago in the early '50s, in time to learn from and share stages with the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. For a time, Jones shared an apartment with harmonica player Walter McCollum, and together, the pair formed a small group that worked regularly with harmonica player Junior Wells and guitarist Freddie King.



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