American blues musician (1934?1998)
Junior Wells
|
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Wells, Chicago Illinois, c. 1984
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Birth name
| Amos Wells Blakemore Jr.
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Born
| (
1934-12-09
)
December 9, 1934
West Memphis, Arkansas
, U.S.
|
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Died
| January 15, 1998
(1998-01-15)
(aged 63)
Chicago, U.S.
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Genres
| |
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Occupation(s)
| Musician, songwriter
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Instrument(s)
| Vocals, harmonica
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Years active
| 1950s?1997
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Labels
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Musical artist
Junior Wells
(born
Amos Wells Blakemore Jr.
; December 9, 1934 – January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song "
Messin' with the Kid
" and his 1965 album
Hoodoo Man Blues
, described by the critic Bill Dahl as "one of the truly classic blues albums of the 1960s".
[3]
Wells himself categorized his music as
rhythm and blues
.
[2]
Wells performed and recorded with various notable blues musicians, including
Muddy Waters
,
Earl Hooker
, and
Buddy Guy
.
[3]
He remained a fixture on the blues scene throughout his career and also crossed over to
rock
audiences while touring with
the Rolling Stones
.
[4]
Not long before Wells died, the blues historian Gerard Herzhaft called him "one of the rare active survivors of the 'golden age of the blues
'
".
[4]
Life and career
[
edit
]
Wells may have been born in
Memphis, Tennessee
, and raised in
West Memphis, Arkansas
(some sources report that he was born in West Memphis).
[5]
[6]
Initially taught by his cousin
Junior Parker
and by
Sonny Boy Williamson II
, Wells learned to play the harmonica skillfully by the age of seven. Wells told the following story, printed on the cover of his album
Hoodoo Man Blues
:
I went to this pawnshop downtown and the man had a harmonica priced at $2.00. I got a job on a soda truck... played hookey from school ... worked all week and on Saturday the man gave me a dollar and a half. A dollar and a half! For a whole week of work. I went to the pawnshop and the man said the price was two dollars. I told him I
had
to have that harp. He walked away from the counter ? left the harp there. So I laid my dollar-and-a-half on the counter and picked up the harp. When my trial came up, the judge asked me why I did it. I told him I
had
to have that harp. The judge asked me to play it and when I did he gave the man the 50 cents and hollered 'Case dismissed!'
He moved to Chicago in 1948 with his mother, after her divorce, and began sitting in with local musicians at house parties and taverns.
[7]
Wild and rebellious but needing an outlet for his talents, he began performing with the
Aces
, consisting of the brothers Dave and Louis Myers on guitars and the drummer
Fred Below
, with whom he developed a modern amplified harmonica style influenced by
Little Walter
.
[7]
In 1952, he made his first recordings when he replaced Little Walter in Muddy Waters's band and played on one of Waters's sessions for
Chess Records
in 1952.
[7]
His first recordings as a bandleader were made in the following year for
States Records
.
[8]
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he recorded singles for
Chief Records
and its subsidiary, Profile Records, including "
Messin' with the Kid
", "Come on in This House", and "
It Hurts Me Too
", which would remain in his repertoire throughout his career. His 1960 Profile single "Little by Little" (written by Chief owner and producer
Mel London
) reached number 23 on the
Billboard R&B chart
, the first of his two singles to enter the chart.
[9]
Wells's album
Hoodoo Man Blues
, released in 1965 by
Delmark Records
, featured Buddy Guy on guitar.
[7]
[10]
The two worked with the Rolling Stones on several occasions in the 1970s.
[10]
Wells's album
South Side Blues Jam
was released in 1971, followed by
On Tap
in 1975.
[10]
His 1996 release
Come On in This House
includes performances by the slide guitarists
Alvin Youngblood Hart
and
Derek Trucks
, among others.
[10]
Wells appeared in the film
Blues Brothers 2000
, released in 1998.
[7]
Death
[
edit
]
Wells began to have severe health problems, including cancer and a heart attack, in 1997.
[7]
He died in Chicago on January 15, 1998, and was interred in the
Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago
.
Album discography
[
edit
]
† indicates albums with Buddy Guy.
- Hoodoo Man Blues
† (1965)
- It's My Life, Baby!
† (1966)
- Chicago/The Blues/Today!
, vol. 1 † (1966)
- You're Tuff Enough
(1968)
- Coming at You
† (1968)
- Live at the Golden Bear
(1969)
- Southside Blues Jam
† (1969)
- Buddy and the Juniors
† (1970)
- In My Younger Days
(1972)
- Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play the Blues
† (1972)
- On Tap
(1974)
- Live Recording at Yuhbin-Chokin Hall
† (1975)
- Live at Montreux
† (1977)
- Blues Hit Big Town
(1977)
- Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite
† (1977)
- Pleading the Blues
† (1979)
- Got to Use Your Head
(1979)
- The Original Blues Brothers
(1983)
- Messin' with the Kid
, vol. 1 (1986)
- Universal Rock
(1986)
- Chiefly Wells
(1986)
- Harp Attack!
(1990)
- 1957?1966
(1991)
- Alone & Acoustic
† (1991)
- Undisputed Godfather of the Blues
(1993)
- Better Off with the Blues
† (1993)
- Messin' with the Kid 1957?63
(1995)
- Everybody's Gettin' Some
(1995)
- Come On in This House
(1996)
- Live at Buddy Guy's Legends
(1997)
- Keep on Steppin': The Best of Junior Wells
(1998)
- Best of the Vanguard Years
(1998)
- Masters
(1998)
- Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
† (1998)
- Last Time Around: Live at Legends
(1998)
- Junior Wells & Friends
(1999)
- Every Day I Have the Blues
† (2000)
- Calling All Blues
(2000)
- Buddy Guy & Junior Wells
† (2001)
- Live Around the World: The Best of Junior Wells
(2002)
- Live at Theresa's 1975
(2006)
- Vanguard Visionaries: Junior Wells
(2007)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Adair, Don (February 24, 1995).
"Indications Are That Junior Wells Is At His Best"
. Spokesman-Review
. Retrieved
August 30,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Junior Wells"
. Chicago Tribune. January 17, 1992.
Wells calls it simply "rhythm and blues. Blues is blues no matter where it's at-it's not Chicago blues or Memphis blues."
- ^
a
b
Dahl, Bill (1996). "Junior Wells". In
Erlewine, Michael
(ed.).
All Music Guide to the Blues: The Experts' Guide to the Best Blues Recordings
.
All Music Guide to the Blues
. San Francisco:
Miller Freeman Books
. pp.
274?276
.
ISBN
0-87930-424-3
.
- ^
a
b
Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Junior Wells".
Encyclopedia of the Blues
. Fayetteville:
University of Arkansas Press
. pp.
360?362
.
ISBN
1-55728-252-8
.
- ^
Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013).
Blues: A Regional Experience
. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 163.
ISBN
978-0313344237
.
- ^
Ratliff, Ben (January 17, 1998).
"Junior Wells, Central Player in Chicago Blues Is Dead at Age 63"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
October 11,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Dahl, Bill.
"Junior Wells: Biography"
.
AllMusic
.com
. Retrieved
May 21,
2009
.
- ^
Pruter, Robert; Campbell, Robert L.; Kelly, Tom.
"The United and States Labels Part I (1951?1953)"
. Campber.people.clemson.edu
. Retrieved
August 2,
2016
.
- ^
In 1992 Wells recorded an instructional documentary-like video for guitarist's
Arlen Roth
's Hot Licks company that
J. Geils
called "the greatest piece of Americana he'd ever seen!"
Whitburn, Joel
(1988).
Top R&B Singles 1942?1988
. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin:
Record Research
. p.
438
.
ISBN
0-89820-068-7
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Russell, Tony (1997).
The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 183?184.
ISBN
1-85868-255-X
.
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Studio albums
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Live albums
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Compilations
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Songs
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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