MUSIC

Shakespeare Pub presents Texas Johnny Brown.

Texas Johnny Brown is truly one of the legendary figures of the American blues scene. Johnny began his professional musical career in Houston in the mid-1940s with Amos Milburn’s “Aladdin Chickenshackers”. Johnny played guitar on many of Milburn’s recordings on Aladdin Records, and Milburn and other members of his band backed Johnny during his Atlantic Records recording session in 1949. Johnny also appeared on Ruth Brown’s first Atlantic Records recordings which were cut during those sessions.

Johnny toured with Bobby “Blue” Bland and Junior Parker in the 1950s and 1960s as guitarist and band leader and was a studio musician for Houston’s Duke/Peacock Records. He recorded a number of his own compositions for Duke/Peacock, including Snakehips and Suspense, and his distinctive guitar style graced the recordings of numerous other Duke/Peacock blues artists, including Bland, Parker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Larry Davis, Lavelle White, Buddy Ace and Joe Hinton. Johnny also wrote the beautiful blues classic, Two Steps from the Blues, which was one of Bland’s biggest hits.

Since Johnny returned to music full-time in 1991, he and his Quality Blues Band have performed in the United States, Canada and Europe, and have played many prestigious festivals.

Johnny was honored as Blues Artist of the Year at the Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton Blues Festival September 22, 2001 in Houston, TX, and September 22, 2001 was declared Texas Johnny Brown Day in Houston. He has also been featured on the cover of Juke Blues magazine (England) and Southwest Blues magazine, in Soul Bag magazine (France) and several times in Living Blues Magazine. Johnny has won numerous Houston Press Music Awards for Best Blues, Best Guitarist and Best Male Vocalist. Johnny is still touring, recording and going strong, or as he would say, he’s still “defending the blues”.