Johnny Jones

During his brief four-decade lifespan, Johnny Jones earned recognition as one of the premier keyboardists to emerge from the Chicago blues circuit. Although his most enduring reputation rests on the dependable support he supplied to slide guitarist Elmore James in both recording studios and as a regular onstage Broomduster, “Little Johnny” also cut a small but striking series of tracks under his own name.

Jones reached Chicago from Mississippi in 1946 already fluent at the eighty-eight keys. Deeply shaped by pianist Big Maceo Merriwether, he stepped into Tampa Red’s ensemble in 1947 once Maceo was felled by a stroke. Demand for Jones’s services as an accompanist grew quickly; between 1949 and 1953 he provided piano for Tampa Red’s RCA Victor dates, supported Muddy Waters on the 1949 recording “Screamin’ and Cryin’,” and later contributed to Howlin’ Wolf sessions.

His name nevertheless remains inseparable from Elmore James. The essential pianist participated in James’s peak-period Chicago dates for the Bihari brothers’ Meteor, Flair, and Modern imprints from 1952 through 1956, as well as additional sessions for Checker, Chief, and Fire. Completed by saxophonist J.T. Brown and drummer Odie Payne, Jr., the Broomdusters maintained a steady engagement at the West Side venue Sylvio’s across five years.

On the infrequent occasions Jones stepped forward as vocalist, his insinuating delivery proved equally compelling. Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, and Leroy Foster supplied backing for the 1949 Aristocrat release “Big Town Playboy,” a performance later covered by fellow overlooked Chicago mainstay Eddie Taylor. Elmore James and J.T. Brown joined him for the 1953 Flair single “I May Be Wrong” backed with “Sweet Little Woman,” the latter a slyly suggestive “dozens” exchange. His final commercial 78, the driving “Hoy Hoy,” appeared on Atlantic in 1953 with James’s group again in support.

Jones remained active on the club circuit alongside Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Syl Johnson, Billy Boy Arnold, and Magic Sam until lung cancer claimed him in 1964. Reports indicate he was the first cousin of another Chicago piano luminary, Otis Spann.