John Mooney (born April 3, 1955) 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 ...

guitarist and singer based in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. 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, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, and raised in

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, ...

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

Son House Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

, 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 Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

, The Meters,

Snooks Eaglin Fird Eaglin Jr. (January 21, 1936 or 1937 – February 18, 2009), known as Snooks Eaglin, was an American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In his early years he was sometimes credited under other names, including Blind Snooks Eaglin, ...

and Professor Longhair. He released his first album, ''Comin' Your Way'', on

Blind Pig Records Blind Pig Records is an American blues independent record label. Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco. I ...

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 Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

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 ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' magazine between September 1996 and March 2004. The plot follows the story of a boy named Yugi Mutou, w ...

''. Sienna, an aspiring photographer, attends

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, 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 Jimmy Thackery (born May 19, 1953, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Career Thackery spent fourteen years as part of The Nighthawks, the Washington, D.C. based blues and roots rock e ...

) * 1990 ''Late Last Night'' (Bullseye Blues) * 1991 ''Telephone King'' (Powerhouse) * 1992 ''Testimony'' (Domino) * 1993 ''Sideways in Paradise'' (with

) (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

Official website

{{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