Biography
Johnny Mars grew up in a sharecropping household and first received a harmonica at nine years old. His family moved through several southern states—North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida—before his mother’s death in 1958 prompted the older relatives to remain in Florida while Mars and his younger brother relocated to New Paltz, N.Y. Following high-school graduation he performed in New York clubs and cut sides with his group Burning Bush for Mercury Records.
By the mid-1960s Mars had settled in San Francisco, where he met Dan Kennedy and launched the Johnny Mars Band, appearing at northern California clubs, festivals, and events staged by promoter Bill Graham. Despite steady work, audiences there stayed limited. Encouraged by Rick Estrin of Little Charlie & the Nightcats, Mars traveled to England in 1972, recorded two albums, and relocated permanently to West London in 1978. Teaming with producer Ray Fenwick—previously associated with Spencer Davis and Ian Gillan—he earned acclaim for the album Life on Mars.
In 1991 Mars served as featured soloist on Bananarama’s singles “Preacher Man,” “Megalomaniac,” and “Long Train Running,” also appearing in the video for “Preacher Man.” Through the 1990s he maintained a loyal European following, especially in Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia, where reviewers dubbed him “the Jimi Hendrix of the harmonica.” Earlier he had shared stages with Hendrix, prior to the guitarist’s wider fame, and with Magic Sam. After years based overseas, Mars returned to the Bay Area in 1992 to perform at the San Francisco Blues Festival. His 1994 U.S. album for MM&K Recordings, Stateside with Johnny Mars, presents original topical songs and distinctive harmonica work free of conventional Chicago blues patterns.
By the mid-1960s Mars had settled in San Francisco, where he met Dan Kennedy and launched the Johnny Mars Band, appearing at northern California clubs, festivals, and events staged by promoter Bill Graham. Despite steady work, audiences there stayed limited. Encouraged by Rick Estrin of Little Charlie & the Nightcats, Mars traveled to England in 1972, recorded two albums, and relocated permanently to West London in 1978. Teaming with producer Ray Fenwick—previously associated with Spencer Davis and Ian Gillan—he earned acclaim for the album Life on Mars.
In 1991 Mars served as featured soloist on Bananarama’s singles “Preacher Man,” “Megalomaniac,” and “Long Train Running,” also appearing in the video for “Preacher Man.” Through the 1990s he maintained a loyal European following, especially in Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia, where reviewers dubbed him “the Jimi Hendrix of the harmonica.” Earlier he had shared stages with Hendrix, prior to the guitarist’s wider fame, and with Magic Sam. After years based overseas, Mars returned to the Bay Area in 1992 to perform at the San Francisco Blues Festival. His 1994 U.S. album for MM&K Recordings, Stateside with Johnny Mars, presents original topical songs and distinctive harmonica work free of conventional Chicago blues patterns.
Singles
