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mardi 12 mai 2020

JOHN LITTLEJOHN: Complete Studio Recordings 1968-84




JOHN LITTLEJOHN: Complete Recordings 1968-84

            Littlejohn, pas toujours cité parmi les grands, a cependant été un des meilleurs représentants du Chicago blues du South Side et un remarquable utilisateur du slide à la guitare. Né John Wesley Funchess à Lake (Mississippi) le 16 avril 1931, c'est là qu'il apprend à jouer de la guitare auprès de son père et du bluesman Henry Martin, un voisin et ami. Quittant la ferme familiale en 1946, il bourlingue pas mal avant de s'établir à Gary, dans l'Indiana, en 1951 et fréquente la scène locale du blues en compagnie de John Brim, Jimmy Reed, Big Daddy Kinsey et Joe Jackson, le patriarche et fondateur des Jackson 5 avec qui il semble avoir joué un moment de la guitare! Dans les 60's, Littlejohn s'installe à Chicago et c'est cela qui lui permet d'enregistrer enfin plusieurs 45t pour de petits labels comme Margaret, TDS ou Weis ainsi qu'un bel album pour Arhoolie qui contient notamment une des plus belles versions de Catfish blues. Cela attire enfin l'attention sur lui et, les années suivantes, Littlejohn retourne à plusieurs reprises en studio pour Chess, séance qui restera inédite à l'époque et pour Al Smith et son label Bluesway, aussi réussi que le précédent. Al Smith m'avait dit qu'il avait gravé une nouvelle séance en compagnie de Carey Bell mais malheureusement le disque n'a jamais vu le jour et doit dormir dans des tiroirs inconnus. John réussit aussi à tourner en Europe et au Japon à plusieurs reprises. Mais, malade et inquiet de la violence du ghetto de Chicago, Littlejohn rentre vivre dans le Mississippi au début des années 80, joue dans les clubs locaux en compagnie de Sammy Myers. Ils gravent ensemble un formidable 45t pour le producteur Johnny Vincent. Littlejohn produit également quelques nouveaux bons albums pour différents labels européens et américains, le meilleur étant pour Rooster malgré une section de cuivres trop présente.
            John Littlejohn meurt dans un hôpital de Chicago le 1er février 1994.
            Merci à Gilbert Guyonnet, Rob Ford et Alain B. pour leur aide
                                                           Gérard HERZHAFT

           
John Littlejohn, although not always cited among the greats, has nevertheless been one of the best stalwarts of the South Side Chicago blues and one of its the top slide guitarist.
            Born John Wesley Funchess at Lake (Ms), 16 April 1931, he learned to play the guitar with his father and the local bluesman Henry Martin. Leaving Mississippi and the hard and underpaid field work in 1946, he made his home in Gary (In) around 1951 and started to play regularly in the local clubs with John Brim, Jimmy Reed, Joe Jackson (the founder of the Jackson 5) and Big Daddy Kinsey. Sometime in the 60's Littlejohn relocated himself in Chicago and started a recording career with a string of very good 45s for small labels like Margaret, TDS or Weis, also waxing a major LP for Arhoolie with several masterpieces like a vibrant version of Catfish blues. This very album brings him the recognition of a more vast audience, blues buffs around the world. He comes back in the studio for a good Chess session who will stay unissued at the time and another masterpiece album produced by Al Smith for his Bluesway label. Smith told me once that he recorded another Littlejohn album backed by Carey Bell at the harmonica but this session is still unissued and seems to be lost somewhere in some vaults. John toured Europe, Japan but ill and worried about the constant violence of the Chicago ghettos, he went back to Mississippi, playing in the Southern clubs with harmonica ace Sammy Myers, recording together a session for Johnny Vincent. Later, he would tour again Europe, recording some more LPs and CDs for several labels, one of the best - despite a too heavy horn section - being done for the Rooster label.
            John Littlejohn died in a Chicago hospital February 1, 1994.
            Thanks to Gilbert Guyonnet, Rob Ford and Alain B. for their help.
                                                           Gérard HERZHAFT




24 commentaires:

  1. JOHN LITTLEJOHN 1968-84
    CD1/
    https://mega.nz/file/nR4x1DRQ#FO4t0jR3io1BlzDYGDVg0EaiKXaTX90kqWtPwOMtmCM

    CD2/
    https://mega.nz/file/LYplXTiI#L1xTFJSXgGWoqcfrzgsGwZOp9e5ApTimmkZs_sRW6Xo

    CD3/
    https://mega.nz/file/XJplVDZC#dyLNAEVnhmTsnDlzTp3r_Q2MqFAzdDxSgbKKrq8FVSg

    OK? And don't forget to give feedback

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  2. Thanks very much Gerard, I've always been a big fan of Johnny Littlejohn.

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  3. Thanks for putting this together and sharing with us. Greatly appreciated!

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  4. Merci Beaucoup Gerard ;BBB

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  5. Merci pour ce travail énorme comme à chaque fois

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  6. Thank you for this! He is so underappreciated!

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  7. Hi Gerard, Greetings from Northern AZ...thank you very much for the John Littlejohn links...I thought I'd try to give back to you for all of your fine offerings through the years...this is a radio broadcast that I recorded nearly 40 years ago of Littlejohn at the Long Beach KLON Blues Festival...I had a friend do a pretty much professional job of digitizing my master cassette in FLAC...If memory serves The Robert Cray Band backs him up on this...enjoy and thanks for all you do for the Blues Community at large...

    https://we.tl/t-aXkqyPunSz

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  8. Thanks Gerard! Listened to CD1 so far and very enjoyable! Thanks for keeping the history alive! :)

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  9. Thanks for this, Gerard. My copy of his album "Sweet Little Angel" shows two more titles for the Nov. 20, 1978 Paris session - "Please Love Me" and "Next Time You See Me". Is this correct?

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    Réponses
    1. You're utterly right,; delraich. I don't know how and why I skip those! Those two tracks are on the originals LP and CD.

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  10. Hello, and thank you for re-posting John Littlejohn, such great blues music. Please re-post Willie Williams, when you can, another great blues guy that I always like to hear more of.
    Thank you.

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  11. Thank you for the nice roundup of John Littlejohn's studio recordings. Yes, the Black&Blue session is incomplete, and the Advent/Testment recordings for Chicago Blues At Home do not qualify as studio recordings I guess, unless you call his living room a "home studio".
    In John Littlejohn discographies you can sometimes find a 45 on Full Scope (Poor Man's Blues/Poor Man's Blues Instrumental on Full Scope Records 1001), but this is just a 45 with the same, however retitled tracks of Full Scope 8200 (Chips Flying Everywhere/Johnny's Blues) which you have included in your set.
    Cheerio!

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  12. Un grand, grand merci, Gérard!!!

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  13. Hi Folks, just a reminder that if you want the live Littlejohn set I posted above the link expires tomorrow...enjoy

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  14. Gérard,

    I am late to the party, I have been too much out of town!
    This is a massive piece of work, thank you very much. Love this music.

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