From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Mar 5, 2002  1:18 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : J.B. Lenoir
 
J.B. LENOIR

Born 5 March 1929, Monticello, Mississippi
Died 29 April 1967, Urbana, Illinois

Singer / songwriter / guitarist.
As in the case of last week's birthday boy, J.R. Cash, the initials J.B.
don't stand for anything in particular ; Lenoir was simply christened J.B.
by his parents. Newcomers to his considerable legacy could be forgiven
for questioning Lenoir's gender upon first hearing his rocking waxings.
His exceptionally high-pitched vocal range is a fooler, but it only adds
to the singular appeal of his music.
His politically charged "Eisenhower Blues" allegedly caused all sorts
of nasty repercussions upon its 1954 emergence on Al Benson's
Parrot logo. A singer who complained directly to the president about
economic hardship was something unprecedented in 1954.
Early influences were Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lightnin' Hopkins and
Arthur Crudup. Lenoir spent time in New Orleans before arriving in
Chicago in the late '40s. Boogie grooves were integral to Lenoir's
infectious routine from the get-go, although his first single for Chess
in 1951, "Korea Blues," was another slice of topical commentary.
From late 1951 to 1953, he waxed several dates for Joe Brown's
JOB logo in the company of pianist Sunnyland Slim , drummer Alfred
Wallace, and on the romping "The Mojo," saxist J.T. Brown. Lenoir
waxed his most enduring piece, the infectious (and often-covered)
"Mama Talk to Your Daughter," in 1954 for Parrot (# 11 R&B).
Lenoir's 1954-55 Parrot output and 1955-58 Checker catalog contained
a raft of terrific performances, including a humorously defiant "Don't Touch
My Head" and "Natural Man." Lenoir's sound was unique: saxes (usually
Alex Atkins and Ernest Cotton) wailed in unison behind Lenoir's
boogie-driven rhythm guitar as drummer Al Galvin pounded out a
rudimentary backbeat everywhere but where it customarily lays.
Somehow, it all fit together. Scattered singles for Shad in 1958 and
Vee-Jay two years later kept Lenoir's name in the public eye. His music was
growing substantially by the time he hooked up with USA Records in 1963
(witness the 45's billing: J.B. Lenoir & his African Hunch Rhythm) . Even
more unusual were the two acoustic albums he cut for German blues promoter
Horst Lippmann in 1965 and 1966. "Alabama Blues" and "Down in Mississippi"
were done in Chicago under Willie Dixon's supervision, Lenoir now free to
elaborate on whatever troubled his mind ("Alabama March," "Vietnam Blues,"
"Shot on James Meredith"). Little did Lenoir know his time was quickly
running out. By the time of his 1967 death, the guitarist had moved to
downstate Champaign - and that's where he died, probably as a delayed result
of an auto accident he was involved in three weeks prior to his actual
death.

CD: J.B. Lenoir (Roots RTS 33027). 28 tracks from 1951-1958.
Or: Topical Bluesman : From Korea to Vietnam (Benco, 1992).