Johnny Drummer "Bad Attitude"
  • Is It Love Or Is It Lust
  • Another Rooster Is Pecking My Hen
  • Bit Her In The Butt
  • Bad Attitude
  • Make You Happy
  • One Size Fit All
  • Sure Sign Of The Blues
  • Don't Call Me Trash
  • Ain't No Secret In A Small Town
  • U-Turn On A One Way Street
  • Better Than Good
  • My Woman My Money My Whiskey
  • Star 69
  • Is It Love Or Is It Lust
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (04:20) [9.93 MB]
  • Another Rooster Is Pecking My Hen
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (04:14) [9.69 MB]
  • Bit Her In The Butt
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (04:25) [10.11 MB]
  • Bad Attitude
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (05:09) [11.77 MB]
  • Make You Happy
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (05:00) [11.44 MB]
  • One Size Fit All
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (05:40) [12.97 MB]
  • Sure Sign Of The Blues
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (04:59) [11.4 MB]
  • Don't Call Me Trash
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (04:17) [9.82 MB]
  • Ain't No Secret In A Small Town
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (05:21) [12.23 MB]
  • U-Turn On A One Way Street
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (05:10) [11.84 MB]
  • Better Than Good
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (04:47) [10.94 MB]
  • My Woman My Money My Whiskey
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (05:10) [11.84 MB]
  • Star 69
    Genre: Blues
    MP3 (04:41) [10.73 MB]
Biography
For more information, contact:
Michael Frank, CEO
Earwig Music Company, Inc.
2054 W. Farwell Ave.
Chicago, IL 60645
mfrank@earwigmusic.com
office phone 773-262-0278
Click here to go to Earwig Music Company
Click here to go to Blessings and Blues Volume 1
Click here to go to Blessings and Blues Volume 2

Johnny Drummer was born Thessex Johns on March 1, 1938, in Alligator, Mississippi, a small town twelve miles south of Clarksdale in the heart of the Delta. There he saw musicians like Little Milton and Ike Turner every weekend, and listened to his three brothers play hollow-box guitars on long summer nights, learning all the blues, r&b, and soul songs of the time. Soon he began singing, and at age seven joined the Kelly Brothers Band in Alligator.

His career as a musician expanded when he joined the Army and learned to play drums. In his three-year army career, he sat in on drums with bands that came around, honing his skills as a musician. Upon leaving the military in 1959, he moved to Chicago, where he began sitting in with Lovie Lee, Big Walter Horton, and Carey Bell at a bar on the corner near his house. He soon began playing drums in Lovie’s band, and later moved on to play with guitarist Eddie King.

In 1962 he cut a record for Wonderful Records, which featured Eddie King, Willie Black, Roy Johnson, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and Otis Spann. In 1965 he got the chance to play with BB King at a club when BB’s drummer failed to show up for the gig. In 1966 he went to see Muddy Waters, and was asked to sit in on bass. He was later asked to tour with Muddy, but declined his offer, uneasy at the prospect of life on the road. He started his band and gained local notoriety in the late 1960s as the leader of a band hired by touring soul blues acts passing through Chicago. In the 1960s he taught himself to play the electronic keyboard and now makes this his primary instrument, though he also plays harmonica, guitar, bass and drums.

From 1996 to 2015, Johnny released four albums on the Earwig Music label. For over 50 years, he performed regularly at Chicago venues, in addition to performing internationally at festivals and blues clubs, including acclaimed performances at the Chicago Blues Festival, Pocono Blues Festival, University of Illinois Blues Festival, and several others in the US, Canada, and Europe.

After 60 years living in Chicago, Johnny moved to Horn Lake, Mississippi in 2017. He can be seen performing in the Mississippi delta at Red's in Clarksdale and at other festivals and events.
21
  • Members:
    Johnny Drummer
  • Sounds Like:
    Jackie Wilson, Junior Parker, Tyrone Davis, Brook Benton
  • Influences:
    Jackie Wilson, Junior Parker, Tyrone Davis, Muddy Waters, Lovie Lee
  • AirPlay Direct Member Since:
    01/04/17
  • Profile Last Updated:
    05/26/24 13:56:08

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