John Wesley Funchess (April 16, 1931 – February 1, 1994) known professionally as John (or Johnny) Littlejohn, was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

ist. He was active on the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

circuit from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Biography

Born in

Lake, Mississippi Lake is a town in Newton and Scott counties, Mississippi. The population was 408 at the 2000 census. Geography Lake is located at (32.343228, -89.328193). The town is located mostly within Scott County, with a portion on the east in adjacent ...

, Littlejohn first learned to play the blues from Henry Martin, a friend of his father's. In 1946 he left home and traveled widely, spending time in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

;

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

;

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

; and

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

. He settled in Gary in 1951, playing whenever possible in the nearby Chicago area. Through his connections in Gary, he was acquainted with Joe Jackson, the patriarch of the musical Jackson family, and Littlejohn and his band reputedly served as an occasional rehearsal band for the

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

in the mid- to late 1960s. Littlejohn played regularly in Chicago clubs (he was filmed by drummer

Sam Lay Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a blues and R&B musician alongside Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted into ...

playing with

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

's band about 1961) but did not make any

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

until 1966, when he cut

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

for several

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s. Later that year he recorded an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

for

Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was founded b ...

and four songs for

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 and roll ...

. The Chess tracks were not issued at the time. He recorded a few singles for small local labels but did not record another album until 1985, when

Rooster Blues Rooster Blues is an American independent record label founded in 1980. The label is dedicated to blues music from the Mississippi Delta. Rooster Blues was co-founded by Jim O'Neal in Chicago, and initially released 14 albums by South Side blues m ...

issued ''So-Called Friends''. Soon after, he fell into ill health. He died of

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in Chicago, on February 1, 1994, at the age of 62.

Discography

Albums

*''Chicago Blues Stars'' (

, 1969) *''Funky From Chicago'' ( BluesWay, 1973) *''Dream'' (MCM, 1977) *''Sweet Little Angel'' ( Black & Blue, 1978) *''Easy Blues'' ( Lafayette Leak, 1978) *''Blues Show! Live At The Pit Inn'' (

P-Vine P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan. History It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name c ...

, 1982; co-featuring

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s bef ...

) *''So-Called Friends'' (

, 1985) *''John Littlejohn's Blues Party'' ( Wolf Records, 1989) *''When Your Best Friend Turns His Back On You'' (

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

, 1989) *''Dream'' (

Storyville Records Storyville Records is an international record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark, specializing in jazz and blues music. Besides its original material, Storyville Records has reissued many vintage jazz recordings that previously appea ...

, 1995; recorded live in 1976) *''Sweet Little Angel'' (Black And Blue Records, 2006)

Compilation albums

*''Slidin (

, 1991, with

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

and

Hound Dog Taylor Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor (April 12, 1915 – December 17, 1975) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer. Life and career Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1915, though some sources say 1917. He first played the piano and ...

)

Singles

*"Kitty O" / "Johnny's Jive" (Margaret Records, 1966) *"What In The World (You Gonna Do)" / "Can't Be Still" (Terrell Records, 1966) *"Father Popcorn (just Got To Town)" (T-S-D Records, 1968, backed by "I Am Back Home" by Bo Dud and Johnny Twist) *"29 Ways" / "I Need Lovin'" (T-S-D Records, 1968) *"Dream/Catfish Blues" (Joliet Records, 1968) *"Shake Your Moneymaker" (Love Records, 1970) *"She's 19 Years Old" / "I Wanna Go Home" (Ace Records, 1975) *"Poor Man's Blues" (Full Scope Records, 1980) *"Bloody Tears" / "Just Got In Town" (Weis Records)

References

External links

Illustrated John Littlejohn discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Littlejohn, John 1931 births 1994 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists Slide guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi Chicago blues musicians Electric blues musicians Deaths from kidney failure 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Illinois People from Lake, Mississippi 20th-century American male musicians Black & Blue Records artists JSP Records artists