Biography
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Born
1 November 1924
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Born In
Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, United States
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Died
19 November 1964 (aged 40)
Little Johnny Jones (November 1, 1924 – November 19, 1964) was a Chicago blues pianist and singer, best known for his work with Tampa Red, Muddy Waters and Elmore James.
Jones was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1924. He arrived in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 in the company of Little Walter and "Baby Face" Leroy Foster, and soon replaced pianist Big Maceo Merriweather in Tampa Red's band after Merriweather suffered a stroke which paralysed his right hand. He later backed Muddy Waters on harmonica, and recorded (on piano and vocals) with Waters for the Aristocrat label in 1949. From 1952 to 1956 he played and recorded with Elmore James, and in later years he worked with Howling Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold and Magic Sam, among others.
Like several other Chicago pianists of his era, his style was heavily influenced by Big Maceo Merriweather, from whom he had learned, and for whom he played piano after Merriweather's stroke. Jones's 1949 side "Big Town Playboy" is regarded as a classic of the genre, and was covered by guitarist Eddie Taylor in 1955.
Popular with audiences, Jones was a heavy drinker and had a reputation as a wild character. According to Homesick James, who worked and toured with them in the 1950s, "Elmore and Johnnie used to just have a fight every night".
Jones married his wife Letha in 1952. He died of bronchopneumonia in Cook County Hospital in November 1964.
Discography
Singles
* "Big Town Playboy"/"Shelby County Blues", Aristocrat 405
* "Sweet Little Woman"/"I May Be Wrong", Flair 1010
* "Hoy, Hoy"/"Doin' the Best I Can (Up the Line)", Atlantic 1045
Albums
* Live in Chicago with Billy Boy Arnold, Alligator AL-4717 (1979)
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