Blues

John Littlejohn - Chicago Blues Stars (1968)

2021-03-15T09:54:04Z

John Littlejohn - Chicago Blues Stars (1968)


A1		What In The World You Goin' To Do	3:53
A2		Treat Me Wrong	3:30
A3		Catfish Blues	3:30
A4		Kiddeo	3:45
A5		Slidin' Home	3:56
B1		Dream	5:15
B2		Reelin' And Rockin'	2:25
B3		Been Around The World	5:20
B4		Shake Your Money Maker	4:19

Bass – Alvin Nichols
Drums – Booker Sidgrave
Rhythm Guitar – Monroe Jones, Jr.
Tenor Saxophone – Robert Pulliam, Willie Young
Vocals, Guitar – John Littlejohn

This November 14, 1968, session was recorded in Chicago, co-produced by Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records and Willie Dixon. It's decent, though journeyman, '60s electric Chicago blues augmented by a couple of tenor saxes. Littlejohn has a pleasant voice and is a skilled guitarist, but does not have the fire or individuality that leaps from some of the musicians to whom one might compare him. Those might include figures like Buddy Guy, say, or Elmore James' more fully produced sides, or on something like "Catfish Blues," the Muddy Waters approach. Littlejohn did write most of the dozen tunes, interspersed with covers of songs by James, Dixon, Brook Benton (a refreshingly unusual choice for a mainstream '60s Chicago bluesman), and J.B. Lenoir. ---Richie Unterberger, AllMusic Review

It's hard to figure why John Littlejohn (Funchess) never became as popular as other Chicago bluesmen of his generation, artists such as Magic Sam, James Cotton and Buddy Guy.

Regardless, Littlejohn has the kind of instantly accessible yet authentically blues sound that propelled his better-known contemporaries to fame.

On this 1968 set, Littlejohn covers both his own material as well as more familiar covers with equal aplomb. He's a strong singer and an even better guitarist, with a clean sound that draws attention where it belongs – on his imaginative playing.

The five-man combo backing Littlejohn (including two tenor saxes) is as unknown as he, and plays every bit as well. All in all, this is a fine bit of Chicago blues, even if the artist is virtually unknown. --Jim Trageser, trageser.com

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John Littlejohn - Sweet Little Angel (2000)

2014-10-17T15:58:32Z

John Littlejohn - Sweet Little Angel (2000)


1. Please Love Me (King, Taub) [7:23]
2. Sweet Little Angel (King, Taub) [7:31]
3. Next Time You See Me (Harvey, Robey) [5:05]
4. Burro Beat (Littlejohn) [6:03]
5. Twenty-Nine Ways to My Baby's Door (Dixon) [5:36]
6. Driftin' Blues (Littlejohn) [10:03]
7. Dust My Broom (James) [3:42]
8. Close to You [Take 2] (Dixon) [3:54]
9. I'm Ready [Take 2] (Dixon) [4:47]

John Littlejohn - Guitar, Vocals
Nick Holt - Bass
Alabama Pettis, Jr. - Guitar
Lafayette Leake - Piano
Fred Below – Drums

Blues Reference, a project under the direction of Jacques Perin, Jean Michael Proust & Jean Marc Fritz has reissued 12 titles from French’s prestigious “Black & Blues “ series of the seventies. We chose the John Little John mostly because he is one of the few unlucky not to benefit enough from the cd era. He’s, indeed, very good and this collection show the reason why. Recorded during the Chicago Blues Festiavl european tour in 1978 John is backed by “giants” as Lafayette Leake on piano and Fred Below on drums as well Alabama Pettis jr on second guitar and Nick Holt on bass. Little John is more than a mere part in the Chciago blues scene of that period ( seventies) but has a personal approach which moves from the sophisticated Californian styles of early fifties to more logical tribute to Elmore James. --- ilpopolodelblues.com

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John Littlejohn & Carey Bell -The Blues Show! - Live At Pit Inn (1981)

2010-12-06T19:58:15Z

John Littlejohn & Carey Bell -The Blues Show! - Live At Pit Inn (1981)


01. Bloody Tears Dixon 5:19  
02. Hoochie Coochie Man Dixon 4:15  
03. Mama Told Me Bell 4:12  
04. Sweet Home Chicago Johnson 4:08     play
05. Dream Funchess 5:44  
06. Carey Bell's Rock Bell 4:05         play
07. Easy to Love You Bell 7:10  
08. Kiddio Otis/Benton 3:44 
09. Slidin' Home Funchess 4:54  
10. Shake Your Money Maker James 4:05

Musicians:
Carey Bell- Harmonica, Vocals  
Larry Burton- Guitar  
Willie Kent- Bass  
John Littlejohn- Guitar, Vocals

Johnny Littlejohn's stunning mastery of the slide guitar somehow never launched him into the major leagues of bluesdom. Only on a handful of occasions was the Chicago veteran's vicious bottleneck attack captured effectively on wax, but anyone who experienced one of his late-night sessions as a special musical guest on the Windy City circuit will never forget the crashing passion in his delivery.

Delta-bred John Funchess first heard the blues just before he reached his teens at a fish fry where a friend of his father's named Henry Martin was playing guitar. He left home in 1946, pausing in Jackson, MS; Arkansas, and Rochester, NY, before winding up in Gary, IN. In 1951, he began inching his way into the Gary blues scene, his Elmore James-influenced slide style making him a favorite around Chicago's south suburbs in addition to steel mill-fired Gary.

Littlejohn waited an unconscionably long time to wax his debut singles for Margaret (his trademark treatment of Brook Benton's "Kiddio"), T-D-S, and Weis in 1968. But before the year was out, Littlejohn had also cut his debut album, Chicago Blues Stars, for Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie logo. It was a magnificent debut, the guitarist blasting out a savage Chicago/Delta hybrid rooted in the early '50s rather than its actual timeframe.

Unfortunately, a four-song 1969 Chess date remained in the can. After that, another long dry spell preceded Littlejohn's 1985 album So-Called Friends for Rooster Blues, an ambitious but not altogether convincing collaboration between the guitarist and a humongous horn section that sometimes grew to eight pieces. The guitarist had been in poor health for some time prior to his 1994 passing. --Bill Dahl, allmusic.com

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