Ex-Slim Harpo guitarist James Johnson plays at Phil Brady's nightclub in Baton Rouge circa 2003. He'll be at this year's Ponderosa Stomp as part of the Excello revue.
Baton Rouge blues giant James Johnson’s scheduled appearance at this year’s Ponderosa Stomp is perhaps one of the most highly anticipated performances in recent memory, especially because this amazing guitarist does not often travel outside Baton Rouge to perform.
Slim Harpo
Everyone knows that bedrock of the 1960s Baton Rouge swamp-blues scene, Slim Harpo (James Moore), whose haunting harmonica was matched by the stinging twin-guitar attack of his lesser-known sidemen, Rudy Richard and James Johnson. It’s Johnson’s biting guitar that puts the “chicken scratch” into Harpo’s 1966 Excello hit, “Baby, Scratch My Back,” which reached #1 on the R&B charts and #16 on the pop charts. As members of the King Bees, the Richard-Johnson tag team also graces many of the other major Harpo sides, including “Rainin’ in My Heart.”
Rudy Richard
Don’t miss this Stomp performance by Johnson, who helped forge the Baton Rouge blues scene along with fellow titans like Raful Neal and Tabby Thomas. He’s a Buddy Guy-caliber guitarist who, unlike Guy, never left Red Stick to find his rightful fortune and fame. By staying put where the weather suits his clothes, he’s been able to serve as a mentor to younger generations of bluesmen, including Kenny Neal, Lil’ Ray Neal, Chris Thomas King, Tab Benoit, and more.
The video below shows Johnson playing with searing yet laid-back intensity in tandem with Lil’ Ray Neal and other Neal family members at a Lafayette juke joint in January 2011. [The New Orleans Saints lost to Tampa Bay the day this video was shot, but the music fans who heard Johnson and the Stomp-like roster of blues and zydeco heavyweights on this show left the club feeling like winners. If, God forbid, the Saints lose to the Chicago Bears on Sept. 18, 2011, your having witnessed James Johnson at the Stomp earlier that weekend will likewise salve your wounds.]
To see the Ponderosa Stomp lineup as scheduled so far, click here. To buy tickets for the Stomp (Sept. 16-17), click here. For travel packages, click here.
Of the unfortunate dwindling number of 1960s and ’70s New Orleans R&B recording artists, thankfully we still have Wallace Johnson to appreciate. He never had much more than a handful of neighborhood hits, but his small clutch of singles – and one great CD – were some of the best local R&B of the era.
Johnson was born Oct. 8, 1937, in Napoleonville, La., 65 miles southwest of New Orleans on Bayou Lafourche.
“When I was 13, I saw Roy Brown at a little town called Bertrandville.” said Johnson in 1998. “I stood in the front row and focused on nothing but him. This was when he had (big) records out like ‘Cadillac Baby,’ ‘Brown Angel’ and ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight.’
“I went in the service in 1954. I was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington. One day at the service club, a guy asked me if I sang. I didn’t, but the next thing I knew, we had a five-member group. This was during the doo-wop era. We performed at talent shows and usually won.”
Johnson got married while in the service. After being discharged, he and his growing family moved to New Orleans, where he had several relatives. Still interested in music, Johnson enrolled at Houston’s School of Music under the G.I. Bill. He unsuccessfully auditioned for Dave Bartholomew at Imperial Records and later for Harold Battiste at Specialty. Battiste expressed interest, but Johnson was told Specialty was winding down its New Orleans activities. However, Batiste revealed he had another project in the works.
“Harold was going to start his own label, AFO. He said it was time for New Orleans musicians that make the music to make the money – not out-of-town companies that came here to record. That’s how I wound up on AFO.”
Johnson debuted on AFO in 1962 with “Clap Your Hands” / “Peace of Mind.” It was a great release, but Johnson got caught in a record-business trick bag. AFO briefly had a national distrubutor, Sue Records, that helped catapult Barbara George’s “I Know” to the top of the charts. Sue and AFO had an bitter split – in a nutshell – over George’s contract and services. That meant Johnson’s single had only local distribution, which meant limited sales and promotion.
“We cut that session at a little studio built behind Ric Records office on Baronne Street,” said Johnson. “That was the first time I met Allen Toussaint, but he couldn’t play on the session because he had a contract with Minit Records. But the rest of the AFO combo played on the record. I cut the session and moved back to Napoleonville after I broke my ankle. Later I found out the label folded and the AFO cats moved out to the West Coast. Then I started seeing Harold on the ‘Sonny and Cher’ show every week.”
Johnson began working weekends at the clubs along Bayou Lafourche. His marquee gig was opening shows for national acts like Ile and Tina Turner and Bobby “Blue” Bland at the Sugar Bowl in Thibodaux. Johnson moved back to New Orleans in 1965 and ran into Toussaint again.
“Allen had just got out of the service and became partners with Marshall Sehorn. This was right after Allen produced Lee Dorsey’s ‘Ride Your Pony.’ I wound up doing several singles with Allen.”
Johnson’s initial Toussaint-produced single – “Something To Remember You By” / “If You Leave Me” – appeared on Sansu and was distributed by Bell. Though it begged to break nationally, it stayed a local record, largely overlooked by the sudden explosion of British music in America. The follow-up, “I’m Grown” / “Baby Go Head,” was also distinctive, but it met a similar fate.
“None of those records were cut live,” recalled Johnson. “Allen would have the musicians record a backing track and then I’d come in and do the vocals. I thought ‘Something to Remember You By’ was pretty good. ‘I’m Grown’ was pretty arrogant song that told a different story. The last single I did with Allen was on RCA (in 1973). ‘I Miss You Girl’ and ‘On My Way Back’ were cut in Atlanta.”
The RCA single didn’t do much, and Johnson returned to Napoleonville, where he drove trucks and worked in a lumber yard to support his family. After his wife died and children grew up, Johnson moved back to New Orleans and worked for company that laid sewer lines. In the mid-1990s, Johnson re-encountered Toussaint and saw a revival of his music career.
“At the time I used to go by Allen’s house to shoot pool,” Johnson said. “I asked him what he thought of me cutting a demo. He said, ‘Go ahead.’ He said, ‘Get the musicians and you can use the studio (Sea-Saint) anytime.’ I met some guys that played with Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., and we did four songs.
“Allen heard the demo and came by my house a couple weeks later. He said, ‘I have some friends in New York are interested in starting a label’ and would I be interested in being involved? Of course I was. I wound up doing a CD ‘Whoever’s Thrilling You’ that came out on NYNO in 1996.”
The release set off a brief firestorm of activity, but Johnson eventually returned to driving a truck for a living. NYNO fizzled, and in 2000, Johnson moved to Atlanta to live with his daughter. His appearance at the 2010 Ponderosa Stomp this Saturday night will mark his first return to New Orleans in a decade.
Here’s a Stomp sneak peek with a great live performance from Sugar Pie Desanto when she toured Europe as part of the American Folk Blues Festival. Ponderosa Stomp alum Hubert Sumlin is on guitar!
Below is snapshot of Sugar Pie’s Ponderosa Stomp poster- from the letterpress geniuses at Yee Haw Industries. See Sugar Pie Desanto live and snag her poster on at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans on September 24th and 25th, 2010.
Chrome-domed rockabilly punk Deke Dickerson is a longtime Stomp backing bandleader and accomplished musician and music writer in his own right. Two guitar slingers go head to head, as he chats with legendary King of Twang and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Duane Eddy.
Renegade punk-blues guitar stylist Kid Congo Powers – of the Cramps, the Gun Club and Nick Cave’s Bad Seeds – joins Rock and Roll Hall of Fame VP of Education and Public Programs Lauren Onkey in this discussion with original bassist Jimi Espinoza of Thee Midniters, who ignited Chicano rock in 60’s East L.A. with cruising anthems like “Whittier Blvd.”
Los Angeles Times senior pop critic discusses with Gloria Jones what is truly a life in rock – from her influential soul cuts like “Tainted Love” to her life on the glam-rock scene with Marc Bolan.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s Dr. Lauren Onkey chats with the legendary Ronnie Spector – the diminutive, high-haired wild child whose commitment to rock n’roll started in Spanish Harlem, survived Phil Spector, influenced the Rolling Stones and the Ramones and still burns bright today.
Award-winning author, journalist and Western wear expert Holly George-Warren talks with Ian Dunlop, original bassist for Gram Parsons’ pre-Burrito outfit the International Submarine Band.
The Trashmen, the wild 60’s Minnesotans behind the bird share the word with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame director of education Jason Hanley.
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Sugarboy Crawford with Rick Coleman
Award-winning Fats Domino biographer Rick Coleman talks with New Orleans R&B legend James “Sugarboy” Crawford, whose 1953 Chess-cut version of “Jock-A-Mo” remains one of the most popular updates of the traditional Mardi Gras Indian chant.
Two legends come together in this conversation. British-born author John Broven remains the definitive authority on South Louisiana swamp pop, Cajun music and R&B, with his groundbreaking texts “South to Louisiana” (1983) “Rhythm & Blues in New Orleans” (1974) and “Record Makers and Breakers.”(2009)His longtime associate Floyd Soileau cut the records Broven wrote the books on, founding seminal labels like Jin, Swallow, Vee Pee and Big Mamou to put out artists like Clifton Chenier and Rod Bernard.
Grammy-nominated Los Angeles-based writer and DJ Chris Morris, the 60’s bluesman turned 70’s “party record”-making comedian. The Atlanta-based bluesman has held down legend status for over half a century, playing, hanging and entertaining with artists from T-Bone Walker to Tina Turner.
Award-winning author Holly George-Warren leads the Stomp Conference’s second installent of the “Here Come The Girls” panel, which she originally moderated at the first conference in 2008. Cult Stax singer Wendy Rene of “BBQ” fame, girl group legend Lala Brooks, and left-handed Gulf Coat guitar empress Barbara Lynn share their stories of the vagaries of the music business for black women in the prefeminist era.
Without the talents of producer, arranger, bandleader, talent scout and trumpeter Dave Bartholomew, the world would never have heard of a piano player named Fats – and that’s only scratching the edge of the tip of the iceberg for Dave Bartholomew, New Orleans’ premier architect of rock n’roll. With Stomp founder Dr. Ike and chronicler John Broven, Bartholomew shares his firsthand account of the dawn of the American rock and R&B sound.
South Louisiana music authority John Broven and frequent MOJO contributor and musician Michael Hurtt talk with Cajun guitar legends Leroy Martin and Johnnie Allan. Look for a possible appearance by their longtime co-conspirator and legendary Ville Platte record man Floyd Soileau!
Ponderosa Stomp secret weapon Lil Buck Sinegal has led the band for Stomp events for the event’s entire history. With running buddy Dr. Ike, he finally discloses his story of life as South Louisiana’s crack guitar slinger, from Clifton Chenier’s band to hundreds of Excello sessions to “Monkey in a Sack” and “Cat Scream.”
Texas wild man Roy Head can still do the alligator, offer marital advice, whip a roadhouse into a soul frenzy and probably fry an egg all at the same time. The irrepressible soul man behind “Treat Her Right” chats with New York Rocker founder and longtime music journalist Andy Schwartz.
*** 15 to 30 minutes between sessions is allowed for the audience of each discussion to change over at a comfortable pace. Please be respectful of our schedule, and join the speakers and moderators in the courtyard or the second floor gallery record fair following their session for refreshments, further conversation and memorabilia signing. ***
The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation thanks Dr. Lauren Onkey and Jason Hanley of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for hosting this year’s Music History Conference.
The Ponderosa Stomp-curated exhibit “Unsung Heroes: The Secret History of Louisiana Rock n’Roll” is on view on floor 2A of the Cabildo during the Ponderosa Stomp Music History Conference. Admission to the Conference allows you to entrance to the exhibit, as well.
“Stoop down baby,
Let your daddy see. (X2)
You got something down there baby worrying the hell out of me.
Two old maids, laying in the bed,
One turned over to the other and said.
Wake up old maid,
Don’t sleep so damn sound,
You know what you promised when you first laid down.”
I had the very good fortune to see to see Chick Willis and his “Stoop Down Revue” at the height of “Stoop Down Fever,” during the summer of 1973. An early issue of ‘Living Blues’ sparked my interest as it contained a feature on Willis, a colorful performer (who wore a turban!!!). Chick was related to the great Chuck Willis and had a record that was then tearing up the South—the said “Stoop Down Baby”—which no radio station could play. Jukebox’s were responsible for breaking that record.
On a record hunting trip to Detroit, I tracked down of a copy of the actual “Stoop Down” album which was issued on LaVal, a label out of Kalamazoo, Michigan. When I got home I dropped the needle on side one which contained a 21 minute plus version of “Stoop Down.” It took about 20 seconds to realize that if any radio station aired the record, their broadcast license would be revoked before the it finished playing. (I’ve since been reminded it was played on New Orleans radio, “Until we were sick of hearing it.”) Side two contained two songs by our own Guitar Slim—”The Story of My Life” and of course the timeless “The Things I Used To Do.” While I didn’t realize it at the time, to this day, Willis probably interpreted Slim’s material better than anyone else living-or-dead.
I had a month to kill before I enrolled in my first year of college and I talked my dad into lending me the family’s second car–a brand new Ford Maverick—to make my first trip to New Orleans. Being a possessed blues record collector, the plan was to head South (from Canada) and hit all the juke box dealers (jukebox dealers were a prime source for blues records then as they sold off their old 45s for as little as a dime), junk stores and thrift stores, after I crossed the Mason Dixon Line. Disdaining Inter State Highways, my travels took me to Greenville, Mississippi. Now a gambling destination, back then Greenville’s major industry was poverty and ginning cotton. First stop in decent sized town meant finding the yellow pages and finding out where the jukebox dealers were located. On this day, instead I stopped to inspect one of a plethora of neon colored posters that were seemingly stapled to every utility pole inside Greenville’s city limits. The posters announced “CHICK WILLIS & his Stoop Down Revue and Show—added attraction—stoop down contest with prizes. This is not a BYOB event. Admission $5.00.” As luck would have it, the show was that evening at the Greenville VFW Hall. My evening was planned.
Despite being a week night, the parking lot was jammed and I dare say, I had the only car in it with Ontario plates. The Greenville VFW’s major source of lighting seemed to be dim Christmas lights initially. Drink options were limited. Set ups—pint of whiskey, two cokes, ice and paper cups—and tepid quarts of Falstaff and Budweiser beer that sold for $2.00 each. I chose the latter and sat inauspiciously in a corner. When the stage lights came on, a local band, the Zodiacs no less, ran through a short set of current soul favorites. Then a small band took the stage and played a couple of instrumentals while they struggled with the sound system. Then a well dressed man—the promoter or a local deejay—got behind the microphone and asked the audience “Are you ready for the star of the show? Are you ready for the man of the hour?” The audiences response was was resounding “Yes!” The guy in the suit then proclaimed “Here he is, the stoop down man—Chick Willis!!!
On stage came a slight man toting a Gibson guitar and wearing a big smile. Well, if you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought a bomb went off. Every woman it the building went ass over tea kettle. A master showman, Willis worked that crowd like a world champion yo-yo player works a yo-yo. He played the guitar behind his head, between his legs, he dropped to his knees, he played the guitar with his tongue. The latter which inspired women to charge the stage and kept Willis’ valet busy peeling them off the edge of the stage. Musically, Willis was dead on even in the midst of a circus. I recalled he played one of his cousins songs, maybe “What Am I Living For,” “Dirty Muther Fuyer” (called “The Dozens” in these parts) and Guitar Slim’s “The Things I Used To Do,” which brought the house down. (In later, years I learned Slim was born and raised in nearby Hollandale.)
With the preliminaries dispensed, Willis lit into a 20 minute version of “Stoop Down Baby” that had everyone on their feet shaking their groove thing instantly. Well, except for me. Willis had a string of verses that seemingly had no end. Barn yard animals, little kids, the president—Willis managed to have everybody in the world stooping down except the Red Chinese and the USSR national hockey team. Soaked in sweat, he eventually retreated back stage. Then it was time for the much anticipated stoop down contest.
As one might assume, only “ladies” participated in the stoop down contest. At first, it reminded me of the limbo contests they had on American and Canadian Bandstand–Yes Virginia, there was a Canadian Bandstand, they filmed it in my home town—but, with no limbo stick. With the MC judging and “Stoop Down Baby” blasting over the sound system, scores of women in all shapes and sizes lined up for first prize. The object of the contest seemed to be, not just how low you could go, but how much drawers you could show. Naturally, the men in the audience howled in delight throughout. It was during the contest that an older black gentleman put his hand on my shoulder—quite obviously noting the look of disbelief on my face. He smiled and said, “Son, I bet you never saw anything like this before.” Obviously, he had a point. A rather well endowed woman took home first prize that night. I don’t remember what the award was, but I’m sure it wasn’t a gift certificate to Victoria Secret.
Willis then returned to the stage and pretty much reprised the first set, again concluding with you know what. He did however underline his genius by coming up with even more verses to “Stoop Down.” In later years, Willis would make several attempts to coat tail his hit–”Stoop Down Part 2,” “Stoop Down ’76,” “Don’t Let Me Catch You With Your Britches Down,” etc., but he couldn’t match the popularity of the original. However, that’s not to say he didn’t make anymore good records as even his most recent recordings have plenty to offer. Take it from some one who found out 37 years ago, an evening with Chick Willis won’t soon be forgotten.
willie brown, future blues.
willie brown was the mysterious guitarist who played behind son house and charley patton. robert johnson called out for his friend willie johnson in crossroads blues. future blues is a great haunting delta slide classic.
“Unsung Heroes: The Secret History of Louisiana Rock n’Roll” is a much-belated celebration of the state’s formidable contribution to American music. The exhibit showcases, for the first time, the rich – and largely unknown – musical history of Louisiana’s blues, R&B, soul, rockabilly, swamp pop and garage artists, who played a significant role in shaping popular music and culture for the last 60 years.
The exhibit takes a close look at the Louisiana’s post-war geographic music capitals- Shreveport, Lake Charles, Crowley, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and of course, New Orleans. With profiles on the entrepreneurial studio owners, the A&R men; and the key musicians, arrangers and producers who made the classic recordings.
The Unsung Heroes exhibit at the New Orleans Jazzfest is displayed in the grandstands during the festival and is an abbreviated version of the full exhibit now showing at the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo in the French Quarter.
obscure blues gem by the equally obscure thaddeus declouet. it was recorded by eddie shuler at goldband studios. the southwest louisiana creole influence is evident with the accordion thrown into the mix.
louise johnson was a piano player/blues singer from the mississippi. in june 1930, charley patton took louise, willie brown and son house up to grafton , wisconsin to record for paramount records.charley had his designs on louise .when it came time to pass out the room keys, louise told son house he was staying with her.
on the wall has the great couplet “you can shake it, break it or hang it on the wall”
