John Németh (born March 10, 1975) is an American

electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. He has received five Blues Music Awards for Soul Blues Male Artist, Soul Blues Album, Traditional Blues Album of the Year, Instrumentalist – Vocals and Instrumentalist – Harmonica. He has recorded ten albums since 2002, having also backed Junior Watson, Anson Funderburgh and

Elvin Bishop Elvin Richard Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 2015, and in ...

. He has opened for Robert Cray,

Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that tra ...

, and Earl Thomas.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that he is a "vocalist with great range, ability, and soulfulness, Németh had also developed into a top-notch blues harmonica player..." In 2013 alone, he was nominated five times 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, " ...

, making nine such nominations in total.

Early life and education

Németh was born in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, United States. After singing at his local church, Németh played in local groups in his teenage years, and later formed Fat John & the 3 Slims with his friend Tom Moore. He toured and performed regularly working between five and seven nights a week for almost a decade.

Career

By 2000, Németh was supplying backing to Junior Watson, and separately fronting his own band known as The Jacks. In 2002, he self-published the album, ''The Jack of Harps''. His debut solo effort, ''Come and Get It'', followed in 2004. The same year, Németh relocated to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Gaining more experience, he temporarily replaced Sam Myers in Anson Funderburgh's backing band in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, he signed a recording contract with Blind Pig Records. ''Magic Touch'', which was produced by Funderburgh and had Watson as a guest musician on several tracks, was issued in 2007. '' Living Blues'' stated "''Magic Touch'' gives hope that the blues will survive." The release saw Németh nominated for a Blues Music Award in the 'Best New Artist Debut' category. Németh also appeared on

's ''The Blues Roles On'' album (2008), which was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in the

Best Traditional Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album was awarded from 1983 to 2011 and from 2017 onwards. Until 1992 the award was known as Best Traditional Blues Performance and was twice awarded to individual tracks rather than albums. The award ...

category. Németh performed at the Blue Bear Live III concert on May 9, 2008 at the Great American Music Hall, to benefit the Blue Bear School of Music. Németh's next release, ''Love Me Tonight'' (2009), reached number 6 in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top Blues Albums Chart. Németh's fourth solo release, ''Name the Day!'', was released in 2010. It equalled the achievement of ''Love Me Tonight'' by peaking at number 6 in the ''Billboard'' Top Blues Albums Chart. ''Blues Live'' was recorded in February 2012 at three venues in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

, and included guitar contributions from Kid Andersen. ''Soul Live'' was released in September 2012. In 2020, Németh signed with Nola Blue Records. His album, ''Stronger Than Strong'', was released on October 16, 2020.

Accolades

In 2013, Németh was nominated in five categories for a Blues Music Award. These included 'B.B. King Entertainer', 'Contemporary Blues Album', 'Instrumentalist – Harmonica', 'Soul Blues Album', and 'Soul Blues Male Artist'. Németh performed at the Great Lakes Blues Society in April; the Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival in May; and the Jackson Rhythm and Blues Festival in August 2013. He relocated to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

in early 2013, and has stated that the Bo-Keys will back him on his next recording. In 2014, he won a Blues Music Award in the 'Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year' category. He was nominated again in the 'B.B. King Entertainer' category for the 42nd Blues Music Awards, scheduled to take place on June 6, 2021. In 2023, Nemeth won the 'Instrumentalist – Harmonica' category at the Blues Music Awards, alongside ''May Be the Last Time'' being named the 'Traditional Blues Album of the Year'.

Discography

References

External links