Jeremiah Johnson (born 1972)
is an American
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music blends elements of
St. Louis blues,
southern rock, and
country.
His 2016 album release, ''Blues Heart Attack'', reached No. 5 in the
''Billboard'' Blues Albums Chart.
Biography
Born in
St. Louis,
Missouri, United States,
Johnson had parents who were both fans of blues music.
His father named him for the 1972
western film of the
same name.
Johnson had ukulele lessons at the age of four,
although his love of watching cartoons on the television meant that it was in his teenage years before he started taking guitar playing more seriously. Originally concentrating on jazz while at college and later rock music, Johnson met blues playing musicians in
Soulard, St. Louis __NOTOC__
Soulard ( ) is a historic neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the home of Soulard Farmers Market, the oldest farmers' market west of the Mississippi River. Soulard is one of ten certified local historic districts in the city of S ...
.
For most of his performing career, Johnson has also worked in his day job as a billboard labourer.
He spent a decade living and working on the
Gulf Coast in Texas. Johnson was a first place finalist in the Houston, Texas, Regional Blues Challenge, sponsored by The Houston Blues Society in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2011, he was the winner of the St. Louis Blues Society
International Blues Challenge, and went on to the semi-finals to represent St. Louis in
Memphis, Tennessee.
In early 2009, Johnson relocated back to St. Louis,
and formed the Jeremiah Johnson Band shortly thereafter.
In a review of the November 2010 release ''9th & Russell'', one music critic stated "everything here is 1st class: musicianship, singing, production, artwork, and especially the songs".
Johnson's music was backed both by his own band and the Sliders. The latter are a horn section consisting of Jim Rosse (trumpet) and Stuart Williams (saxophone). Long-term performers on the St. Louis blues and R&B circuit, they have played in
Johnnie Johnson's own band and toured with
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...
and
Bob Weir
Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...
.
In 2011, their joint follow-up effort, ''Brand Spank'n Blue'', was released on
CD Baby
CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that "C ...
.
In 2014, film maker Gary Glenn filmed a Johnson concert as the basis of his docu-concert film named ''Ride the Blues''.
In 2015, Johnson played at the Bonita Blues Festival in
Bonita Springs, Florida
(beautiful), eng, beautiful springs
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = Bonita_Beach.JPG
, imagesize = 250x200px
, image_caption = Bonita Beach
, image_flag ...
.
Johnson's 2015 release, ''Grind'', spent a number of weeks on the
''Billboard'' Blues Albums Chart, with a peak position of No. 8. The album was produced by
Devon Allman,
and featured
Yonrico Scott as guest drummer.
Johnson's 2016 release, ''Blues Heart Attack'', spent five weeks in the top 15 and peaked at No. 5 on the
Billboard Blues Chart. The album was produced by Jason McIntire and Jeremiah Johnson at Sawhorse Studios in St Louis, Missouri. Many of the songs and the album spent more than half the year in the top of the radio charts according to the Roots Music Report.
Ruf Records released Johnson's 2018 album, ''Straitjacket''.
Ruf Records released Johnson's 2020 album, ''Heavens to Betsy''. It debuted at No. 3 and later moved up to the No. 1 position on the Billboard Blues Chart. Reviews of ''Heavens to Betsy'' included, “…magnificent” about covers the whole of “Heaven’s To Betsy” in one word. Like they’ve dusted off the all American rock n roll songbook and given it a spruce up. Good heavens, this is a cracker.” - ''Maximum Volume'';
Band
The Jeremiah Johnson Band currently comprises:
*Jeremiah Johnson - guitar and vocals
*Benet Schaeffer - drums
*Frank Bauer - tenor saxophone
*Tony Anthonis - bass guitar
*Tony Antonelli - Percussion and backing vocals
*Paul Niehaus IV - Bass Guitar and backing vocals
Discography
References
External links
Official websiteVideo and interview2014 interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jeremiah
1972 births
Living people
Musicians from St. Louis
American blues singers
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Songwriters from Missouri
Country blues musicians
St. Louis blues musicians
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
Singers from Missouri
Guitarists from Missouri
American male songwriters