John Mooney (born April 3, 1955) is 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 based in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He has developed a unique music style by combining

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

with the funky second line beat of New Orleans. He is especially known for his slide guitar work.

Early life

Mooney was born in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...

, and raised in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. He left home when he was 15. The following year, he met

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a prea ...

, a Mississippi bluesman who became a huge musical influence on him.

Musical career

In 1976, Mooney moved to New Orleans, and soon he was playing with host of musicians in the New Orleans R&B circuit including Earl King, The Meters, Snooks Eaglin and

Professor Longhair Henry Roeland Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday o ...

. He released his first album, ''Comin' Your Way'', on Blind Pig Records in 1979. In 1981, he formed his own band, Bluesiana, with whom he has been recording and touring since. He has released albums from several different labels including ''Against the Wall'' on the House of Blues label in the U.S., and also others from the German labels CrossCut and Ruf. In 2000, he returned to Blind Pig to release ''Gone to Hell'' which featured Dr. John as a special guest. ''All I Want'' followed two years later on the label. His album, ''Big Ol' Fiya'', was nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

for "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" in 2007.

Family life

Mooney has three children, Zach, Sienna and Devon Mooney. His eldest son, Zack, was once ranked third in the US in ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' between September 1996 and March 2004, with its chapters collected in 38 volumes. The ...

''. Sienna, an aspiring photographer, attends

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

, focusing on a major in cinema studies with a minor in French, and makes videos on YouTube.

Discography

* 1979 ''Comin' Your Way'' (Blind Pig) * 1984 ''Telephone Blues'' (Powerhouse) * 1985 ''Sideways in Paradise'' (first pressing, Seymour Records no catalog reference) (this album with Jimmy Thackery) * 1990 ''Late Last Night'' (Bullseye Blues) * 1991 ''Telephone King'' (Powerhouse) * 1992 ''Testimony'' (Domino) * 1993 ''Sideways in Paradise'' (with Jimmy Thackery) (Blind Pig) * 1995 ''Travelin' On'' (CrossCut) * 1995 ''Dealing with the Devil'' (Ruf) * 1996 ''Against the Wall'' (House of Blues) * 2000 ''Gone to Hell'' (Blind Pig) * 2002 ''All I Want'' (Blind Pig) * 2006 ''Big Ol' Fiya'' (Live Music Lives) * 2014 ''Son and Moon'' (Fatback Records) * 2016 ''Live at Jazzfest 2016'' (Munck Music) * 2017 ''Truth of the Matter'' (John Mooney Music / Funny Bird Records)

References

External links

*
Intrepid Artists website on John Mooney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, John 1955 births Living people American blues singer-songwriters American blues guitarists American rhythm and blues guitarists American male guitarists Contemporary blues musicians Blues musicians from New Orleans Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Musicians from East Orange, New Jersey Musicians from Rochester, New York Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana Guitarists from New Jersey Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Blind Pig Records artists Ruf Records artists American male singer-songwriters