Nashville's blues and R&B scene loses one of its shining lights

Few musicians have had as great an impact on Nashville's blues and R&B history as Johnny Jones, who died Oct. 14 at 73. A majestic and exciting player, Jones had high standards and enjoyed competing with his peers. But while he always emphasized excellence and could be quite demanding on the bandstand, he was beloved and highly respected by his fellow musicians.

"He was the premier blues guitarist in Nashville for more than 50 years," says Michael Gray, an editor at the Country Music Hall of Fame. "To many people he was legendary only because they remember he mentored Jimi Hendrix. But that was only one of the things he did—and that's not necessarily even the most important.

"During the '50s and '60s, which was his greatest period, he played on so many of the great sessions that Ted Jarrett produced," Gray continues. (Jarrett, a legendary Nashville songwriter, producer and record-label owner and a driving force behind Nashville's soul music heyday, died earlier this year.) "He was also a major part of the house band for two pioneering television shows, though he played a bigger role in The!!!! Beat than he did with Night Train.

Guitarist and singer James "Nick" Nixon, a longtime friend and musical comrade, remembers Jones as a fearlessly inventive player who enjoyed a little healthy one-upmanship. "He was a very confident, accomplished musician, someone who was never satisfied with what they did," Nixon says. "When we were playing together onstage, if he heard something he didn't like, he would let you know about it. He had an incredible ear and was a brilliant player. But off the stage, he was one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet.

"Still, when he picked up that guitar, he was naturally very competitive," Nixon adds. "He'd cut you to the bone quickly, especially if you were up there on that stage and weren't ready to play."

Jones grew up in Eads, Tenn., and was a huge fan of B.B. King—his radio shows on WDIA in Memphis and his instrumental approach. Indeed, Jones incorporated into his style the angular, tight fills, fluid lines and dashing harmonies that punctuated the vocals of King and T-Bone Walker, plus the equally explosive guitar work of Wayne Bennett, whose sound was a key element in the Joe Scott band arrangements underscoring Bobby "Blue" Bland's fiery vocals.

Jones' initial blues seasoning came in Chicago. The dynamic harmonica soloist Junior Wells gave Jones one of his first regular gigs in a band whose members often included shuffle-blues wizard Freddie King. Jones always spoke fondly about his time in this band, but he was never a fan of the brutal Chicago winters, something that led him to relocate to Nashville in the late '50s. That's where he met Jarrett.

"Ted actually found him in Clarksville," Gray says. "They soon became very close friends and Johnny was on all his early productions, playing with people like Charles Walker, Larry Birdsong and Earl Gaines."

Jones gained a reputation as a gifted soloist and session contributor. He became known for he flamboyant appearances at North Nashville and Jefferson Street clubs, and it was during this time that Jones met a Fort Campbell soldier named Jimi Hendrix.

Jones would later team with Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox in the King Kasuals (later known as the King Casuals). He spent over two years playing with and encouraging Hendrix before the young guitarist departed for New York and rock stardom. According to local blues lore, their most famous encounter was an early '60s head-cutting session at Club Baron. Jones would later acknowledge that Hendrix probably bested him on that occasion. But he wasn't shy about saying Hendrix also learned plenty from him, an assessment backed by other Nashville blues figures, including Nixon and Marion James.

It was around this time that Jones got a gig with the house band for Night Train and The!!!! Beat. "He was particularly important on The!!!! Beat," Gray says. "At first he was second guitarist behind Gatemouth Brown, but after Gatemouth left, he was the key soloist and main cog in that house band. That show predated Soul Train, and many great R&B, soul and blues performers appeared on it."

But after a stint with longtime favorite Bland, Jones grew weary and disillusioned as the popularity and earning power of traditional R&B, blues and soul stars began fading during the '70s. He temporarily departed from the spotlight, but returned with flair during the '90s.

He providing spirited backing for vocalists like Roscoe Shelton and Charles "Wigg" Walker, and in 1999 released his first solo LP, I Was Raised on the Blues. Two years later he recorded Blues Is in the House for the Modern Blues label, and then a live album that teamed him with Walker. He also recorded for labels like Black Magic and began reappearing at various area functions, among them all nine editions of the Jefferson Street Jazz and Blues Festival.

But no event did more to generate new accolades and acclaim for Johnny Jones than the 2004-05 Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-1970. Gray curated the exhibit and contributed to the liner notes for the two companion CD releases, which feature songs with Jones' accompaniment. (The first CD set won a Grammy.) Gray also presided over several subsequent events connected with the exhibit that included Jones.