J. B. Lenoir ( '; March 5, 1929 – April 29, 1967) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

scene in the 1950s and 1960s.

Life and career

Lenoir was born in Monticello, Mississippi. His full given name was simply "J. B."; the letters were not initials. Lenoir's guitar-playing father introduced him to the music of Blind Lemon Jefferson who became a major influence. During the early 1940s, Lenoir worked with the blues artists

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp s ...

and Elmore James in New Orleans. He was later influenced by Arthur Crudup and

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its li ...

. In 1949, he moved to Chicago, where

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

helped introduce him to the blues community. He began to perform at local nightclubs, with musicians such as

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, Big Maceo Merriweather, and

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, and became an important part of the city's blues scene. Lenoir began recording in 1951 for J.O.B. Records and

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

. His recording of "Korea Blues" was licensed to and released by

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

,Williamson, Nigel (2007). ''Rough Guide to the Blues''. . as having been performed by J. B. and his Bayou Boys. His band included Sunnyland Slim, piano, "Baby Face" Leroy Foster, guitar and Alfred Wallace on drums. During the 1950s, Lenoir recorded for various record labels in the Chicago area, including J.O.B., Chess,

Parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

, and Checker. The labels often spelled his name as 'LENORE'. His more popular songs included "Let's Roll", "The Mojo" The Mojo Boogie"(featuring saxophonist J. T. Brown) and the controversial "Eisenhower Blues", which Parrot Records forced him to re-record as "Tax Paying Blues." Lenoir was known in the 1950s for his showmanship, particularly his zebra-patterned costumes, and his high-pitched vocals. He became an influential electric guitarist and songwriter and his penchant for social commentary distinguished him from many other blues men of the time. His most commercially successful and enduring release was "Mamma Talk to Your Daughter", recorded for Parrot in 1954, which reached number 11 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' R&B chart and was later recorded by many other blues and rock musicians. In the later 1950s, recording for Checker, he wrote several more blues standards, including "Don't Dog Your Woman" and "Don't Touch My Head!!!" (1956). Lenoir and

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

got together in 1962 in Lenoir's home and recorded 11 songs. Dixon taped these as an audition tape for Lenoir to go to Europe as part of the large blues packages then dominating the European blues scene. According to the album's liner notes, they were sitting down together, relaxed and private, talking, jiving and singing in a way that differs from a studio or club date. In 1963, he recorded for USA Records as J. B. Lenoir and his African Hunch Rhythm, having developed an interest in African percussion. In 1965 and 1966, Willie Dixon recorded him playing acoustic guitar with only the drummer Fred Below accompanying him, which was unusual at the time for a Chicago blues session. German blues promoter, Horst Lippman released these recordings on two albums, ''Alabama Blues'' and ''Down in Mississippi'' inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and Free Speech Movement. Here, he again spoke his mind with songs such as "Alabama March", "Vietnam Blues" and "(Every Child in Mississippi is) Born Dead". Lenoir toured Europe and performed with the American Folk Blues Festival, most notably in the United Kingdom in 1965.

Death and legacy

Lenoir died on April 29, 1967, in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...

, at the age 38, of injuries he had suffered in a car crash three weeks earlier.

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paid tribute to the fallen bluesman with the songs "I'm Gonna Fight for You, J. B." and "The Death of J. B. Lenoir", though in both songs, Mayall mispronounces Lenoir's name as . The 2003 documentary film '' The Soul of a Man'', directed by

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

as the second installment of

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's series '' The Blues'', explored Lenoir's career, together with those of

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals, James' early recordings ...

and

Blind Willie Johnson Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945), commonly known as Blind Willie Johnson, was an American gospel blues singer and guitarist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930, thirty songs in all, display a combinat ...

. In 2011, Lenoir was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

Discography

Selected albums

* ''The Chronological J.B. Lenoir, 1951-1954''. 23 J.O.B. tracks, Classics (2005) and Paula (1991) * ''J.B. Lenoir'', 28 Chess tracks, two Chess lps, includes the album Natural Man (1976) * ''His J. O. B. Recordings, 1951-1954''. 21 tracks, Flyright Records (1989) * ''The Chronological J. B. Lenoir, 1955-1956''. 19 tracks, Classics (2007) * ''I Wanna Play A Little While: The Complete Singles Collection 1950-1960''. two cds, 41 tracks, Jasmine (2015) * ''The Mojo -The JOB/ USA/ Vee Jay Recordings''. 22 tracks, P-Vine (2004) * ''The Mojo Boogie: with Sunnyland Slim'', J.O.B./ Cobra Recordings. 22 tracks P-Vine (1990) * ''Mama Watch Your Daughter'' 19 Parrot & Chess recordings from 1954-1958, Charly Blues Masterworks Vol. 47 (1993) * ''Alabama Blues'' 12 tracks, L&R and German CBS lp (1965); see Vietnam Blues below for CD release. * ''Down in Mississippi'' 12 tracks, L&R Records lp (1981); see Vietnam Blues below for CD release. * ''J.B. Lenoir & Willie Dixon'' – One Of These Mornings, 11 tracks recorded in J.B.'s home. JSP lp (1986) * ''One of These Mornings''. 16 tracks, all 11 from Willie Dixon's recordings in J.B.'s home plus five studio tracks. JSP CD (2003) * ''Vietnam Blues, The Complete L + R Recordings''; (Alabama Blues and Down in Mississippi). 24 tracks, Evidence CD (1995) * ''J. B. Lenoir'', collection of recordings, featuring posthumous interview by John Mayall with Ella Louise Lenoir. 15 tracks, Polydor/Crusade (1970)

Singles

*"My Baby Told Me" / "Korea Blues" (Chess 1449, 1/51) *"Deep In Debt Blues" / "Carrie Lee" (Chess 1463, 6/51) *"Let's Roll" / "People Are Meddling (In Our Affairs)" (J.O.B. 112, 7/52) *"The Mountain" / "How Much More" (J.O.B. 1008, 11/52) *"The Mojo" The Mojo Boogie"/ "How Can I Leave" (J.O.B. 1012, 5/53) *"I'll Die Tryin'" / "I Want My Baby" (J.O.B. 1016, 10/53) *"(I Wanna) Play A Little While" / "Louise" (J.O.B. 1102, 4/54) *"I'm In Korea" / "Eisenhower Blues" (later pressings had "Tax Paying Blues" as the B-side) (Parrot 802, 4/54) *"Mamma Talk To Your Daughter" / "Man Watch Your Woman" (Parrot 809, 1/55) *"Mama Your Daughter Is Going To Miss Me" / "What Have I Done" (Parrot 814, 5/55) *"Fine Girls" / "I Lost My Baby" (Parrot 821, 11/55) *"Let Me Die With The One I Love" / "If I Give My Love To You?" (Checker 844, 9/56) *"Don't Touch My Head!!!" / "I've Been Down So Long" (Checker 856, 2/57) *"What About Your Daughter?" / "Five Years" (Checker 874, 9/57) *"Daddy Talk To Your Son" / "She Don't Know" (Checker 901, 12/58) *"Back Door" / "Lou Ella" (Shad 5012, 1959) *"Oh Baby" / "Do What I Say" (Vee Jay 352, 1960) *"I Sing Um The Way I Feel" / "I Feel So Good" (USA 744, 1963) *"Mojo Boogie" 960 acoustic version/ "I Don't Care What Nobody Say" (Blue Horizon 1004, 1966)

Compilation albums

*''Natural Man'' (Chess, 1970) *''Chess Blues Masters'' (Chess, 1976; reissued in 1984) 2-LP *''The Parrot Sessions 1954–55'' (Relic, 1988) *''Alabama Blues: Rare and Intimate Recordings'' (Snapper, 2004)

References

External links

J. B. Lenoir filmed performances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenoir, J. B. 1929 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American singers American blues guitarists American blues harmonica players American blues singers American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Checker Records artists Chicago blues musicians Deaths from bleeding Electric blues musicians Guitarists from Illinois Guitarists from Mississippi People from Monticello, Mississippi American political music artists Road incident deaths in Illinois USA Records artists