If you love the blues, you need to know the name Johnny Jones.
Before he became Nashville’s undisputed guitar king, Johnny’s journey started deep in the American South.
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States August 17, 1936, he grew up surrounded by the roots of the blues.
By the time he was a teenager in the early 1950s, his prodigy-level talent caught the attention of blues royalty.
He landed his very first professional gig touring with harmonica master Junior Wells, a massive launchpad that quickly established Johnny as a fierce new voice on the scene. Soon after, he spent years on the road backing the legendary Bobby “Blue” Bland, sharpening the razor-sharp phrasing and soulful tone that would soon define the Nashville sound.In the 1960s, Johnny made his way to Nashville’s Jefferson Street, then a blazing hotbed for R&B and the rest is history.
Johnny’s prominent early 1960s band The Imperial Seven, were a fixture at Nashville’s famous New Era Club on Jefferson Street, where a young Jimi Hendrix would regularly show up to watch Johnny play and pick up guitar tips.
Before he was a global icon, a young Jimi Hendrix was stationed near Nashville.
Johnny took him under his wing, helping the young guitarist turn raw talent into a focused, undeniable force.
Nashville folklore still talks about the night Johnny and Jimi went head-to-head in a guitar battle at the Club Baron. The verdict? Johnny won the crowd’s applause that night. When Jimi left town, Johnny even took over his band, the King Casuals!
He brought the underground sound to national TV, tearing it up in the house bands for pioneering 1960s R&B shows like The!!!! Beat and Night Train.
Johnny Jones passed away on October 14, 2009, at the age of 73 in Nashville, Tennessee.
He’s widely recognized as a chief architect of the Nashville R&B and blues movement.
He bridges the gap between traditional Southern blues and the foundational roots of psychedelic rock through his heavy mentorship and stylistic influence on a young Jimi Hendrix.
