Amos Blackmore
Looking back, I doubt any other musicians had a hold on me the way Buddy Guy and Junior Wells did. I hadn't been going out to hear music but for a year or two prior to that, and the energy from the band was mesmerizing. I'd see that they were coming to Swifts and I'd be right on board, telling people to come see them, that they were not to be missed!
The first time they weren't playing together Buddy was booked into Nightstage one night, and Junior was at Johnny D's the following night. Not knowing that they had parted ways, I expected Junior to come to Buddy's show. Well he never showed, and when I asked Buddy to autograph a picture of the two of them, he wrote in blue paint pen 'You kiss my "A"'.
After I moved up to the 11" X 14" enlargement format, I started carrying two images to a show whenever I'd be asking for an autograph. As it was prior to my ownership of a computer, I bought return address labels that I'd attach to the back of the one I wanted the artist to keep. All that effort on the off chance they wanted copies of to use in a publication. Junior was a well known trickster. He loved to toy with his audience and when I asked for his autograph he jumped at the chance to tease me, too. I slid the enlargement without the sticker over to him. Seeing that I had a large envelope in my hand he asked to see it. He then insisted on keeping the first one. I spent a bit of time going back and forth trying to convince him to take the second one. This went on for about twenty minutes until I finally gave up. "Sure, take that one" I told him. Then he laughed, slapped me on the back and told me: "I'm only fuckin' with ya, I'll sign this one...". That was pure Junior wells.
The first time they weren't playing together Buddy was booked into Nightstage one night, and Junior was at Johnny D's the following night. Not knowing that they had parted ways, I expected Junior to come to Buddy's show. Well he never showed, and when I asked Buddy to autograph a picture of the two of them, he wrote in blue paint pen 'You kiss my "A"'.
After I moved up to the 11" X 14" enlargement format, I started carrying two images to a show whenever I'd be asking for an autograph. As it was prior to my ownership of a computer, I bought return address labels that I'd attach to the back of the one I wanted the artist to keep. All that effort on the off chance they wanted copies of to use in a publication. Junior was a well known trickster. He loved to toy with his audience and when I asked for his autograph he jumped at the chance to tease me, too. I slid the enlargement without the sticker over to him. Seeing that I had a large envelope in my hand he asked to see it. He then insisted on keeping the first one. I spent a bit of time going back and forth trying to convince him to take the second one. This went on for about twenty minutes until I finally gave up. "Sure, take that one" I told him. Then he laughed, slapped me on the back and told me: "I'm only fuckin' with ya, I'll sign this one...". That was pure Junior wells.
Junior Wells, born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr. was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song "Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album Hoodoo Man Blues, described by the critic Bill Dahl as "one of the truly classic blues albums of the 1960s". Wells himself categorized his music as rhythm and blues.
Wells performed and recorded with various notable blues musicians, including Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker, and Buddy Guy. He remained a fixture on the blues scene throughout his career and also crossed over to rock audiences while touring with the Rolling Stones. Not long before Wells died, the blues historian Gerard Herzhaft called him "one of the rare active survivors of the 'golden age of the blues'".
Early years
Wells may have been born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in West Memphis, Arkansas (some sources report that he was born in West Memphis). Initially taught by his cousin Junior Parker and by Sonny Boy Williamson II, Wells learned to play the harmonica skillfully by the age of seven.
He moved to Chicago in 1948 with his mother, after her divorce, and began sitting in with local musicians at house parties and taverns. Wild and rebellious but needing an outlet for his talents, he began performing with the Aces, consisting of the brothers Dave and Louis Myers on guitars and the drummer Fred Below, with whom he developed a modern amplified harmonica style influenced by Little Walter. In 1952, he made his first recordings when he replaced Little Walter in Muddy Waters's band and played on one of Waters's sessions for Chess Records in 1952. His first recordings as a bandleader were made in the following year for States Records. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he recorded singles for Chief Records and its subsidiary, Profile Records, including "Messin' with the Kid", "Come on in This House", and "It Hurts Me Too", which would remain in his repertoire throughout his career. His 1960 Profile single "Little by Little" (written by Chief owner and producer Mel London) reached number 23 on the Billboard R&B chart, the first of his two singles to enter the chart.
Wells's album Hoodoo Man Blues, released in 1965 by Delmark Records, featured Buddy Guy on guitar. The two worked with the Rolling Stones on several occasions in the 1970s. Wells's album South Side Blues Jam was released in 1971, followed by On Tap in 1975. His 1996 release Come On in This House includes performances by the slide guitarists Alvin Youngblood Hart and Derek Trucks, among others. Wells appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000.
Wells told the following story, printed on the cover of Hoodoo Man Blues: "I went to this pawnshop downtown and the man had a harmonica priced at $2.00. I got a job on a soda truck... played hooky from school ... worked all week and on Saturday the man gave me a dollar and a half. A dollar and a half! For a whole week of work. I went to the pawnshop and the man said the price was two dollars. I told him I had to have that harp. He walked away from the counter – left the harp there. So I laid my dollar-and-a-half on the counter and picked up the harp. When my trial came up, the judge asked me why I did it. I told him I had to have that harp. The judge asked me to play it and when I did he gave the man the 50 cents and hollered 'Case dismissed!'" (1948)
Wells performed and recorded with various notable blues musicians, including Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker, and Buddy Guy. He remained a fixture on the blues scene throughout his career and also crossed over to rock audiences while touring with the Rolling Stones. Not long before Wells died, the blues historian Gerard Herzhaft called him "one of the rare active survivors of the 'golden age of the blues'".
Early years
Wells may have been born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in West Memphis, Arkansas (some sources report that he was born in West Memphis). Initially taught by his cousin Junior Parker and by Sonny Boy Williamson II, Wells learned to play the harmonica skillfully by the age of seven.
He moved to Chicago in 1948 with his mother, after her divorce, and began sitting in with local musicians at house parties and taverns. Wild and rebellious but needing an outlet for his talents, he began performing with the Aces, consisting of the brothers Dave and Louis Myers on guitars and the drummer Fred Below, with whom he developed a modern amplified harmonica style influenced by Little Walter. In 1952, he made his first recordings when he replaced Little Walter in Muddy Waters's band and played on one of Waters's sessions for Chess Records in 1952. His first recordings as a bandleader were made in the following year for States Records. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he recorded singles for Chief Records and its subsidiary, Profile Records, including "Messin' with the Kid", "Come on in This House", and "It Hurts Me Too", which would remain in his repertoire throughout his career. His 1960 Profile single "Little by Little" (written by Chief owner and producer Mel London) reached number 23 on the Billboard R&B chart, the first of his two singles to enter the chart.
Wells's album Hoodoo Man Blues, released in 1965 by Delmark Records, featured Buddy Guy on guitar. The two worked with the Rolling Stones on several occasions in the 1970s. Wells's album South Side Blues Jam was released in 1971, followed by On Tap in 1975. His 1996 release Come On in This House includes performances by the slide guitarists Alvin Youngblood Hart and Derek Trucks, among others. Wells appeared in the film Blues Brothers 2000.
Wells told the following story, printed on the cover of Hoodoo Man Blues: "I went to this pawnshop downtown and the man had a harmonica priced at $2.00. I got a job on a soda truck... played hooky from school ... worked all week and on Saturday the man gave me a dollar and a half. A dollar and a half! For a whole week of work. I went to the pawnshop and the man said the price was two dollars. I told him I had to have that harp. He walked away from the counter – left the harp there. So I laid my dollar-and-a-half on the counter and picked up the harp. When my trial came up, the judge asked me why I did it. I told him I had to have that harp. The judge asked me to play it and when I did he gave the man the 50 cents and hollered 'Case dismissed!'" (1948)