Johnny Edward Jenkins (March 5, 1939 – June 26, 2006) was an American left-handed blues guitarist, who helped launch the career of

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

. His flamboyant style of guitar playing also influenced Jimi Hendrix.

Career

In the 1960s Jenkins was the leader of the Pinetoppers, who employed a young

as singer. As Jenkins did not have a driver's license, Redding also served as his personal driver. During a recording session in 1962 organized by the band's manager,

Phil Walden Phil Walden (January 11, 1940 – April 23, 2006) was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter. Biography Walden received his undergraduate degree in economics from M ...

, Jenkins left forty minutes of studio time unused. Redding used this time to record a ballad, " These Arms of Mine", on which Jenkins played guitar. Scott Freeman, in his biography of Redding, ''Otis!: The Otis Redding Story'', gives several accounts of that chaotic day at

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

. In 1964, Jenkins released an instrumental single, "Spunky" (Volt V-122). With Phil Walden concentrating on Redding's flourishing career, Jenkins was sidelined, and it was not until after Redding's death in 1967 that Walden again concentrated on Jenkins's career. In 1970, Jenkins released the album ''

Ton-Ton Macoute! ''Ton-Ton Macoute!'' is the 1970 debut solo album of American blues musician Johnny Jenkins. Jenkins had previously led The Pinetoppers, a band which at one time featured Otis Redding. Jenkins then appeared on two Redding albums, playing guitar ...

''. The opening track, a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of Dr. John's "I Walk on Guilded Splinters", has been

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

by numerous musicians, including Beck ('' Loser''), and Oasis (''

Go Let It Out "Go Let It Out" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by the band's lead guitarist, and chief songwriter, Noel Gallagher. It was released on 7 February 2000 as the first single from their fourth studio album, '' Standing on the Shoulder ...

''). Several tracks on ''Ton-Ton Macoute!'' featured

Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock guitarist, session musician, and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

on guitar and dobro. With Walden again becoming involved in other projects, Jenkins became disillusioned with the music industry and did nothing of note until 1996. By then Walden had persuaded him to make a comeback, and he released the album ''Blessed Blues'', recorded with Chuck Leavell. Two further albums followed: ''Handle with Care'' and ''All in Good Time''.

Death

Jenkins died from a stroke in June 2006 in the same town where he was born: Macon, Georgia. He was 67.

Induction

Jenkins was inducted into the

Georgia Music Hall of Fame The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Miller to attract the music ...

in 2012.

Discography

;Solo * ''

'' (1970) * ''Blessed Blues'' (1996) * ''Handle With Care'' (2001) * ''All in Good Time'' (2005) With

* ''

Pain in My Heart ''Pain in My Heart'' is the debut album of soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding. Redding recorded for Volt Records, a subsidiary of Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Volt LPs were initially issued on the Atco label, which released this a ...

'' (Atco Records, 1964) * ''

The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads ''The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads'', simply referred to as ''Soul Ballads'' or ''Sings Soul Ballads'', is the second studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, released in 1965. The album was one of the first issued ...

'' (Atco Records, 1965)

References

External links

Johnny Jenkins
at

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

''Washington Post'', "Johnny Jenkins, aided Otis Redding" June 29, 2006 retrieved July 1, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Johnny 1939 births 2006 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from Macon, Georgia Capricorn Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American male musicians