He was one of my first influences for playing guitar and Blues music/lifestyle. I met him around 1970-71 at the house of Scooter and Stevie Swann in Shreveport, Louisiana. They were also key influences for me, as they were a great blues duo. John lived at his mother's home in Center, Texas and came to Shreveoprt often to hang out and play gigs. We would hang out at the Swan's home jamming, listening to records by the seminal blues masters and spent hours figuring out guitar licks from Eric Clapton's LAYLA LP. John had a beautiful Les Paul gold archtop as well as an old acoustic hollow-body, the brand name and model of which I can't remember. He and the Swan brothers would play gigs at small joints and restaurants in the Shreveport area. It was these experiences as well as jamming at the shotgun house of an old black man named "Cotton", who was definitely "The Real Thing" that influenced me most and got me playing and loving the blues. A couple of years after I moved back to Dallas from Shreveport, John moved to New York and got his big record deal.
I didn't talk to him for a year or two. But I got a call one day from Scooter Swan that John was the producer of the first Benson & Hedges Blues Festival which toured the country with John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Albert Collins, and many other blues legends. I seem to remember Etta James, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Vaughan (The Fabulous Thunderbirds), and Buddy Guy. But I have seen, played at and have been backstage on so many shows and festivals since then, that these folks may have been on other shows. My memory is a bit fuzzy about this. Getting old...
Anyway, John invited us to the Dallas show and gave us Backstage Passes. So we got to meet all those Blues greats, which is one of my life's fondest memories and for which I am eternally grateful to John.
John played the opening set solo. John was also definitely "The Real Thing". He played positively KILLER blues acoustic/electric guitar. He was VERY particular about the precise tone he wanted from his rig. He sat and plucked strings and adjusted amp knobs for over 30 minutes. And I remember his knob adjustments were infinitesimal. I couldn't hear any difference between some of his fractional settings, but he sure could!
It was a sad day when I heard on the radio about John's death. He was way too young. I still think about him often. He was a major influence on my life's musical direction and I'll never forget him.
I have played guitar (and I only know how to play blues guitar) now for 33 years. Never had a lesson. I just watch, listen and steal licks wherever I can and these days play more than I ever have. Can't quit! We all became musicians to keep from growing up! Thank you John!
Contributed by Richard Chalk
Used with Permission. Copyright © 2003 Richard Chalk
Richard Chalk started and operates TopCat Records in Dallas, Texas.