Biography
In the realm of early blues, Billiken Johnson stands out as a distinctive presence because he neither sang nor played any instrument, yet still cut at least six sides by the close of the 1920s. His singular skill lay in reproducing train whistles and generating further vocal sounds, which drew steady crowds when he performed at the juke joints and taverns of Dallas, Texas’s celebrated Deep Ellum district. On December 3, 1927, he recorded the two selections Sun Beam Blues and Interurban Blues for Columbia Records in Dallas; exactly one year later, on December 8, 1928, he added Frisco Blues and Wild Jack Blues. He is further credited with Texas Bill Day on the December 5, 1929, Dallas session that produced Billiken’s Weary Blues and Elm Street Blues, both of which Columbia also released.