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Big Jack Johnson

The Oil Man

A true master of contemporary Delta blues, Big Jack Johnson is one of the best blues guitarists ever to come out of Clarksdale, Mississippi and that is a long list. Born in 1940 in Lambert, MS, Johnson has spend the past 40 years living and playing the blues. His musicianship has been so renowned, that he has performed by invitation with Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Reed, Robert Nighthawk and Carl Perkins, to name a few. He first recorded at the famous Sun Studios in Memphis in 1964. Unlike many Bluesmen today, Big Jack has stayed in the Delta and continues to make his home in the same place he started out in. Not that he hasn't traveled. Tours have taken him to Japan, Germany, Holland, and many other European countries. He's also in regular demand at the festivals that have sprung up all over the U.S. In 1962 Big Jack first gained prominence when he teamed up with Frank Frost and Sam Carr and formed what most blues fans think of as the perfect Blues trio. Originally called Frank Frost and the Nighthawks, then Little Sam Carr and The Blues Kings, they finally settled on the Jelly Roll Kings when they recorded for Earwig Records in 1978. Big Jack has been named Best Live Performer in The Living Blues Magazine Critic's Poll and won the 1997 W.C. Handy Award for his MC Records release, We Got To Stop This Killin'. An incredibly gifted and intense guitarist and vocalist, Johnson plays electric slide with the dirty, greasy feel of Elmore James and shouts verses that sound as old as the Delta soil he was born on. This is raw, powerful, electric Delta blues at its very best. Encouraged by his musician-father, Big Jack became a proficient guitarist at an early age. Lacking nothing in terms of pure talent, his vocal and instrumental skills have become world-class -- he is the blues as much as any artist that has ever played. In fact, Big Jack has garnered some prestigious awards, recorded with diverse groups and for various labels, and rocked the stages of clubs and festivals the world over.

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