Biography
Since issuing the aptly named Believe It! on Blind Pig back in 1989, Chicago-based guitarist, singer, and songwriter Joanna Connor has established herself as a virtuoso across modern electric blues, R&B, and blues-rock. Her aggressive approach fuses blistering single-string lines with explosive, raw slide-guitar fireworks, yielding a sound that is simultaneously volcanic and profoundly soulful. She has also distinguished herself as a capable vocalist and composer. The 1996 album Big Girl Blues earned praise for its unvarnished, high-energy attack. While anchoring her blues firmly within the Chicago lineage, Connor demonstrates deep knowledge of the idiom’s broader past, a command showcased on 1998’s Slidetime. The 2002 release Joanna Connor Band shifted toward soul-infused blues-funk. Following 2003’s Mercury Blues, she stepped away from studio work for twelve years to focus on raising her children. Her return came in 2016 with the internationally praised Six String Stories. The funky, horn-laden soul-blues of Rise arrived in 2019. Early in 2021 she delivered the Joe Bonamassa-produced 4801 South Indiana Avenue, then issued Best of Me two years afterward.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Connor relocated with her mother at age four to Worcester, Massachusetts. Exposure to her mother’s extensive blues and jazz holdings, together with concert outings featuring Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, and Buddy Guy, shaped her direction. She received her first guitar at seven and immersed herself in blues and roots rock. At sixteen she began performing vocals with Worcester-area groups and formed the Pino/Connor Band alongside guitarist Ken Pino; the duo played clubs and colleges throughout New England. In 1984, at twenty-two, she took a one-way Greyhound to Chicago. Her initial three weeks in the Windy City were spent frequenting clubs and sitting in at every opportunity. After approaching Lonnie Brooks one night, she received a referral to his rhythm guitarist Dion Payton; an invitation to play led to her replacing Payton upon his departure. Shortly thereafter she joined slide master Johnny Littlejohn’s ensemble, after which Payton recruited her into his popular 43rd Street Blues Band. As a major local attraction, Payton featured her at premier venues including Kingston Mines, B.L.U.E.S., and the Checkerboard Lounge. Connor ignited those storied rooms with slashing lead work, impassioned slide solos, and vocals steeped in soul. Alongside Payton she regularly shared stages with Chicago icons James Cotton, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and A.C. Reed, and appeared with him at the 1987 Chicago Blues Festival. By year’s end she had assembled her own band.
Her Blind Pig debut Believe It! carried her beyond Chicago clubs into venues and festivals across the United States, Canada, and Europe. From the outset Connor demonstrated tireless touring commitment, working independently, in package shows, and as a sideman. Fight charted on blues lists in multiple countries in 1992. Living on the Road (1993) and Rock and Roll Gypsy (1995) were licensed by Germany’s Ruf Records, solidifying her status as a European headliner and radio regular. Big Girl Blues reached European charts in 1996 and confirmed her stature as a potent singer alongside her guitar prowess. Slidetime highlighted her affinity for R&B and early blues forms. The live album Nothing But the Blues, captured at a 1999 German concert, appeared to enthusiastic notices on the In-Akustik label in 2001.
After contributing to Deborah Coleman’s I Can’t Lose and Where Blue Begins, Connor departed Blind Pig and joined the independent M.C. Records in 2002. The Joanna Connor Band reflected an expanded palette incorporating funk, jazz, and soul. Mercury Blues followed in 2003, a collaborative covers project with Europe’s Mercury Ensemble, a chamber orchestra blending classical and other idioms. Standout interpretations included Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression,” Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man,” and the Beatles’ “Within You, Without You.”
While raising her children Connor continued local performances. She released the live Unplugged at Carterco with Lance Lewis and appeared on Luther Allison & Friends’ Pay It Forward. Apart from the self-released Live 24, recorded at a Kingston Mines engagement (where she maintained a three-night-weekly residency when not touring), she remained close to home, playing locally and on summer festival stages. A fan-captured video excerpt from her incendiary 2014 North Atlantic Blues Festival set went viral on YouTube, prompting M.C. Records to encourage her return to the studio for Six String Stories. The album featured sophisticated originals co-written with longtime bandmate Lance Lewis, along with covers of Jill Scott’s “Golden” and Elmore James’ “The Sky Is Crying.” She also explored soul-gospel on “Heaven,” which included backing vocals from the Lewis Family.
With her daughter attending Indiana University on a basketball scholarship and her son pursuing a musical career, Connor resumed extensive touring across Asia, Europe, Canada, and the United States. She rejoined M.C. Records for 2019’s Rise. Featuring a new ensemble, the record extended the stylistic range of Joanna Connor Band and Six String Stories through funky jazz, hard rock, contemporary blues, and R&B, interspersed with acoustic numbers. Highlights included “Bad Hand” with Mike Zito, an instrumental reading of Sly Stone’s “If You Want Me to Stay,” and the swinging jump-jazz vehicle “Joanna in A.” In 2020 she signed with Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive label. Co-produced by Bonamassa and Josh Smith, the sessions took place at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville with a three-guitar frontline, keyboardist Reese Wynans, bassist Calvin Turner, and a horn section. The project paid personal tribute to the Chicago blues scene that shaped her; its title, 4801 South Indiana Avenue, references the longtime address of Theresa’s Lounge, the South Side club that operated from 1951 to 1987 and hosted the city’s foundational blues figures. The single and video “I Feel So Good” preceded the January announcement, and the ten-track album appeared in February 2021, debuting at number one on the blues charts.
After successful U.S. and European tours, Connor paused briefly. Mike Zito of Gulf Coast Records invited her to record with complete artistic freedom. She enlisted touring bassist Shaun Calloway (her songwriting partner) and drummer Jason “J Roc” Edwards as co-producers, retained the remainder of her road band, and secured guest appearances from Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Gary Hoey, Zito, the Grooveline Horns, and additional musicians. The resulting eleven-song collection comprises eight originals written or co-written by Connor, two by Calloway, and a cover of K.C. Douglas and Robert Geddins’ 1948 classic “Mercury Blues.”
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Connor relocated with her mother at age four to Worcester, Massachusetts. Exposure to her mother’s extensive blues and jazz holdings, together with concert outings featuring Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, and Buddy Guy, shaped her direction. She received her first guitar at seven and immersed herself in blues and roots rock. At sixteen she began performing vocals with Worcester-area groups and formed the Pino/Connor Band alongside guitarist Ken Pino; the duo played clubs and colleges throughout New England. In 1984, at twenty-two, she took a one-way Greyhound to Chicago. Her initial three weeks in the Windy City were spent frequenting clubs and sitting in at every opportunity. After approaching Lonnie Brooks one night, she received a referral to his rhythm guitarist Dion Payton; an invitation to play led to her replacing Payton upon his departure. Shortly thereafter she joined slide master Johnny Littlejohn’s ensemble, after which Payton recruited her into his popular 43rd Street Blues Band. As a major local attraction, Payton featured her at premier venues including Kingston Mines, B.L.U.E.S., and the Checkerboard Lounge. Connor ignited those storied rooms with slashing lead work, impassioned slide solos, and vocals steeped in soul. Alongside Payton she regularly shared stages with Chicago icons James Cotton, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and A.C. Reed, and appeared with him at the 1987 Chicago Blues Festival. By year’s end she had assembled her own band.
Her Blind Pig debut Believe It! carried her beyond Chicago clubs into venues and festivals across the United States, Canada, and Europe. From the outset Connor demonstrated tireless touring commitment, working independently, in package shows, and as a sideman. Fight charted on blues lists in multiple countries in 1992. Living on the Road (1993) and Rock and Roll Gypsy (1995) were licensed by Germany’s Ruf Records, solidifying her status as a European headliner and radio regular. Big Girl Blues reached European charts in 1996 and confirmed her stature as a potent singer alongside her guitar prowess. Slidetime highlighted her affinity for R&B and early blues forms. The live album Nothing But the Blues, captured at a 1999 German concert, appeared to enthusiastic notices on the In-Akustik label in 2001.
After contributing to Deborah Coleman’s I Can’t Lose and Where Blue Begins, Connor departed Blind Pig and joined the independent M.C. Records in 2002. The Joanna Connor Band reflected an expanded palette incorporating funk, jazz, and soul. Mercury Blues followed in 2003, a collaborative covers project with Europe’s Mercury Ensemble, a chamber orchestra blending classical and other idioms. Standout interpretations included Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression,” Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man,” and the Beatles’ “Within You, Without You.”
While raising her children Connor continued local performances. She released the live Unplugged at Carterco with Lance Lewis and appeared on Luther Allison & Friends’ Pay It Forward. Apart from the self-released Live 24, recorded at a Kingston Mines engagement (where she maintained a three-night-weekly residency when not touring), she remained close to home, playing locally and on summer festival stages. A fan-captured video excerpt from her incendiary 2014 North Atlantic Blues Festival set went viral on YouTube, prompting M.C. Records to encourage her return to the studio for Six String Stories. The album featured sophisticated originals co-written with longtime bandmate Lance Lewis, along with covers of Jill Scott’s “Golden” and Elmore James’ “The Sky Is Crying.” She also explored soul-gospel on “Heaven,” which included backing vocals from the Lewis Family.
With her daughter attending Indiana University on a basketball scholarship and her son pursuing a musical career, Connor resumed extensive touring across Asia, Europe, Canada, and the United States. She rejoined M.C. Records for 2019’s Rise. Featuring a new ensemble, the record extended the stylistic range of Joanna Connor Band and Six String Stories through funky jazz, hard rock, contemporary blues, and R&B, interspersed with acoustic numbers. Highlights included “Bad Hand” with Mike Zito, an instrumental reading of Sly Stone’s “If You Want Me to Stay,” and the swinging jump-jazz vehicle “Joanna in A.” In 2020 she signed with Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive label. Co-produced by Bonamassa and Josh Smith, the sessions took place at Ocean Way Studios in Nashville with a three-guitar frontline, keyboardist Reese Wynans, bassist Calvin Turner, and a horn section. The project paid personal tribute to the Chicago blues scene that shaped her; its title, 4801 South Indiana Avenue, references the longtime address of Theresa’s Lounge, the South Side club that operated from 1951 to 1987 and hosted the city’s foundational blues figures. The single and video “I Feel So Good” preceded the January announcement, and the ten-track album appeared in February 2021, debuting at number one on the blues charts.
After successful U.S. and European tours, Connor paused briefly. Mike Zito of Gulf Coast Records invited her to record with complete artistic freedom. She enlisted touring bassist Shaun Calloway (her songwriting partner) and drummer Jason “J Roc” Edwards as co-producers, retained the remainder of her road band, and secured guest appearances from Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Gary Hoey, Zito, the Grooveline Horns, and additional musicians. The resulting eleven-song collection comprises eight originals written or co-written by Connor, two by Calloway, and a cover of K.C. Douglas and Robert Geddins’ 1948 classic “Mercury Blues.”
Albums
Singles
