Johnny Shines

Although frequently overshadowed by the mythic stature of Robert Johnson on account of their time spent traveling together, Johnny Shines received less acknowledgment for his own lasting mark on the blues than the circumstances warranted. Early on he stood among the leading slide guitarists working in Delta blues, developing a personal, high-energy approach that carried traces of Johnson’s spirit without ever amounting to simple copying. He eventually headed north to Chicago, where he slipped comfortably into electrified urban blues, aided by his forceful and deeply felt vocals. Recording chances stayed limited during his strongest years, prompting him to step away from music for a period, yet fresh attention in the late 1960s brought steady studio work and touring once more. A stroke in 1980 reduced his guitar agility, yet his singing retained its full emotional force, and he kept performing until his death in 1992.

John Ned Shines entered the world on April 26, 1915, in Frayser, TN, and settled in Memphis at the age of six. Growing up in a musical household, he received his first guitar lessons from his mother and, as a teenager, performed on Memphis streets for tips alongside friends, drawing inspiration from Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, and the young Howlin’ Wolf. In 1932 he relocated to Hughes, AR, to work as a sharecropper while continuing to play music on the side; by 1935 he had resolved to pursue music professionally. He had first encountered Robert Johnson in Memphis in 1934 and soon joined him on travels across the Southern juke-joint circuit, performing wherever work could be found; together they reached as far north as Windsor, Ontario, where they appeared on a radio broadcast. After roughly three years on the road—during which Shines became one of Johnson’s closest associates, alongside Johnson’s stepson Robert Jr. Lockwood—the pair separated in Arkansas in 1937 and never met again before Johnson’s death in 1938.

Shines kept performing through the South for several more years before deciding in 1941 to travel north in hopes of finding work in Canada and then sailing to Africa. Instead, upon reaching Chicago, a cousin promptly offered him construction employment, and he decided to remain. He began circulating through the city’s blues clubs and cut his first recordings in 1946—four tracks for Columbia that the label chose not to issue. He resurfaced on Chess in 1950, laying down sides that saw only limited release, often credited to “Shoe Shine Johnny.” At the same time he supported other performers both on stage and in recording sessions. Between 1952 and 1953 he produced powerful sides for the JOB label, among his strongest work, some featuring Big Walter Horton on harmonica; commercial success remained elusive, so he resumed his supporting roles. In 1958, following a financial disagreement with the musicians’ union, Shines left the music business, sold his equipment, and relied solely on the construction job he had maintained throughout.

He nevertheless stayed connected to the local scene by photographing live performances and selling prints to audiences. Blues historians eventually located him and persuaded him to record for Vanguard’s Chicago/The Blues/Today! series; his contributions to the third volume in 1966 revived his career. He next recorded for Testament (including 1966’s Master of the Modern Blues, Vol. 1, several tracks with Big Walter Horton) and for Blue Horizon (1968’s Last Night’s Dream), releases that brought him to a wider audience. Greater recognition followed, prompting tours first with Horton and Willie Dixon as the Chicago All-Stars and later with his own band. After his daughter’s sudden death, Shines took responsibility for his grandchildren and, seeking a better environment for them, moved the family to Tuscaloosa, AL.

Throughout the early 1970s he recorded for Biograph and Advent, among others, and earned strong praise for the more Delta-oriented 1975 album Too Wet to Plow on Tomato. He also gave guitar lessons in Tuscaloosa between road engagements. Despite the quality of his own recordings, many white blues listeners sought him out chiefly because of Robert Johnson’s legend, repeatedly questioning him about Johnson rather than his current music and career, a pattern that eventually frustrated Shines. This attention did not deter him from returning to acoustic Delta blues or from performing many of Johnson’s songs; in the late 1970s he frequently toured and recorded with Robert Jr. Lockwood, a partnership that naturally evoked Johnson’s legacy. A stroke in 1980 impaired his guitar playing permanently, yet his voice stayed undiminished, and with assistance from some of his students he continued to perform across America and Europe. In the early 1990s he appeared in the documentary Searching for Robert Johnson and completed a final album with Snooky Pryor, 1991’s Back to the Country, which received a Handy Award. His health declined, and he died on April 20, 1992, in a Tuscaloosa hospital.