Hello, everyone! Am I the only one here who enjoys Johnny Shines just as much as Robert Johnson, if not more? Shines' voice was more powerful than Howlin' Wolf's. He could go from a whisper to a yell in one second. He's the only guy whose music causes me to constantly adjust the volume on my computer, which can be a bit irritating. His slide work was great, though I've heard some people say he wasn't a wonderful all-around guitar player. And the man deserves a lot of credit for writing country blues songs (like "The Devil's Daughter") decades after the heyday of country blues, just like Alvin Youngblood Hart (example: "Them Fair Weather Friends"). Few others are able to do this without making the country blues sound whitebread (Toby Walker comes to mind). Shines' electric recordings also contained a lot of intensity, again evident in his powerhouse voice (example: "Ain't Doin' No Good" and "No Name Blues"). He was also capable of doing more R&B flavored stuff like "Just a Little Tenderness" and "Give My Heart a Break." And we also have to consider the guy's incredibly poetic taste in lyrics. Along with Alex Moore and perhaps Blind Lemon, he was the most original lyricist in all of blues (even considering the many floating verses he used in songs). What I'm wondering is why everyone always mentions Robert Johnson in the same breath as Johnny, and why Johnny wasn't fully appreciated during his lifetime. The guy survived into the 1990s, so there must be plenty of information available on him to write a biography. I'd love to see his autobiography come out, as well. For those who share my feelings about Johnny, I want to let you know that Blues Reference recently re-released his "Takin' The Blues Back South." It's a great disc!
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"There ain't no Heaven, ain't no burning Hell. Where I go when I die, can't nobody tell."
I agree about Johnny Shines. I have quite a few LPs and CDs by him (nothing on my computer!), which make for very enjoyable listening. As well as his accomplished slide playing, I think he had a great voice, full of expression.
« Last Edit: December 24, 2011, 04:49:34 AM by Parlor Picker »
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"I ain't good looking, teeth don't shine like pearls, So glad good looks don't take you through this world." Barbecue Bob
I was lucky enough to meet Johnny Shines and see him play at very close quarters at the Mariposa Folk Festival in Toronto in the early seventies. He was an extremely cultured, intelligent, dignified and patient man, even when being pestered with stupid questions by a 23 year old me who didn't know any better! And what a voice - loud, clear, and at times chilling. His guitar playing was expressive and could be bouncy and funky! I remember wishing his Gibson guitar would have done better justice to his slide work, as it was quite quiet, didn't sustain a lot, and sounded like the action was set too low for slide. However the slide guitar work itself was superb and the delicacy of some of it was a perfect foil to that crying voice. I remember cringing on his behalf when people would ask him RJ questions instead of Johnny Shines questions! A great player and a great man, IMO.
Prof. Scratchy, that's awesome that you got to meet Johnny Shines! I know this was a long time ago, but do you remember any specific quotes from him about anything at all? (it can be about Blues, hamburgers, Nixon; it doesn't matter! haha). Unfortunately for me, I was born way too late to have met any great Country Blues originals. I wonder if anyone knows of a live Johnny Shines album that was recorded in Japan. I think it's never been issued on cd. The name of the arena or city escapes me at the moment, but I know that many artists (Blues and non-Blues) have albums with the same title- "Live at the (insert city or arena's name)". It's not the Budokan! haha. I'm just curious, because it's some of the only Shines stuff that I don't own on cd. Thanks!
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"There ain't no Heaven, ain't no burning Hell. Where I go when I die, can't nobody tell."
I wonder if anyone knows of a live Johnny Shines album that was recorded in Japan. I think it's never been issued on cd. The name of the arena or city escapes me at the moment, but I know that many artists (Blues and non-Blues) have albums with the same title- "Live at the (insert city or arena's name)". It's not the Budokan! haha. I'm just curious, because it's some of the only Shines stuff that I don't own on cd. Thanks!
Johnny Shines Live Recording at Yubin Chokin Hall on March 1975 Blues Festival # 2
- Steady Rollin' Man - Dust My Broom - Good Morning Blues - Have To Pay The Cost - Little Wolf - Pony Blues - Come On In My Kitchen - Dynaflow Blues - Mean Black Snake - Nobody's Fault But Mine
rec. Tokyo, Japan 1975
Go to Stefan's site and click on Johnny Shines for the complete list:
I sat within a foot of he and Robert Lockwood when they played London's 100 Club in October 1979. Didn't speak with him but he had a novel way of dealing with a heckler, something along these lines:
Haha! Great story. This is a bit off-topic, but I saw John Hammond perform at small club here on Long Island (New York) in January. There was an audience member who must have ordered about 15 beers and was drunk 30 minutes into the show. At one point, while John was performing Hambone Willie Newbern's "Dreamy-Eyed Woman Blues", the guy was headbanging while yelling out "Jimmy Reed!". There was also another audience member who was concentrating more on his chicken wings than on John's performance, and he kept calling out, "Duane Allman, John! Tell us a story about Duane!". This must have been sort of similar to Mr. Shines constantly being attacked with questions about Robert Johnson.
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"There ain't no Heaven, ain't no burning Hell. Where I go when I die, can't nobody tell."
Perhaps this has already been mentioned, but Blue Horizon has released recordings by Sunnyland Slim + Johnny Shines' "Last Night's Dream" sessions on CD. Just wanted to point this out because it's related to the discographies.
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"There ain't no Heaven, ain't no burning Hell. Where I go when I die, can't nobody tell."
Awesome! Thanks for that information. "Last Night's Dream" has some really fantastic lyrics and vocals, though Johnny thought his playing wasn't that great on the album.
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"There ain't no Heaven, ain't no burning Hell. Where I go when I die, can't nobody tell."