Johnny Rawls
Singer, songwriter, guitarist, arranger and producer Johnny Rawls draws on the 1950s' and '60s' deep soul-blues tradition in his guitar playing, yet his lyrics and singing are completely 1990s.
Rawls got his early musical education from his grandfather, John Paul Newson, a blind guitarist who played around the Hattiesburg area. Rawls began playing clarinet and saxophone in third grade, and by the time he was in his teens, the band instructor hired Rawls to play in his band. As a teen, Rawls had the opportunity to back singers like Joe Tex and Z.Z. Hill. He began playing guitar at age 12, learning as much as he could from players in other area blues bands. After leaving Mississippi for a year when he was 17, he returned, determined to form his own blues/soul ensemble. They found work backing up touring musicians and by the mid-1970s, Rawls joined O.V. Wright's band, working with Wright until his death in 1980. After Wright's death, the band continued to perform his music for 13 years as the O.V. Wright Band, opening shows for people like B.B. King, Little Milton Campbell and Bobby Bland. In the mid-1980s, the O.V. Wright Band also toured with Little Johnny Taylor, Latimore, B.B. Coleman, Blues Boy Willie, and others, including Lynn White.
Working with guitarist L.C. Luckett, Rawls recorded 45 rpm singles for his own label, Touch Records, and continued working around the South, touring regionally with soul-blues singers. In 1994, Rawls and Luckett recorded their first album, Can't Sleep at Night, for the Rooster Blues label. In 1995, Rawls parted with Luckett to lead a new group and found a record company that was interested, the London-based JSP label. Here We Go, his debut for JSP Records, was recorded in 1996, and since then, he's followed it up with Louisiana Woman, a 1997 release.
Rawls carries on the soul-blues tradition of people like O.V. Wright, Otis Redding and Z.Z. Hill in his singing style and guitar playing, but his arrangement, production and lyrics are steeped in the 1990s techniques and subject matter. Rawls is a true soul-blues renaissance man and with any luck.
© Richard Skelly /TiVo
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Discografía
14 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
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Walking Heart Attack
Blues - Editado por Catfood Records el 25-08-2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Tiger in a Cage
Blues - Editado por Catfood Records el 19-02-2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Miss Otis Clay
Blues - Editado por Third Street Cigar Records el 26-09-2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live in Europe
Soul - Editado por Continental Record Services el 21-02-2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best of Johnny Rawls, Vol. 1
Blues - Editado por Catfood Records el 18-05-2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Waiting for the Train
Blues - Editado por Catfood Records el 15-09-2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Memphis Still Got Soul
Blues - Editado por Catfood Records el 01-04-2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Going Back to Mississippi
Blues - Editado por Third Street Cigar Records el 23-09-2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Remembering O. V.
Blues - Editado por Catfood Records el 15-10-2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I'm Still Around
Blues - Editado por Third Street Cigar Records el 10-09-2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Where Have All the Soul Men Gone
Blues - Editado por Johnny Rawls el 17-08-2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo