J. B. Lenoir (/ləˈnɔːr/luh-NORR; March 5, 1929 – April 29, 1967)[1][2] was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the Chicago blues scene in the 1950s and 1960s.
During the 1950s, Lenoir recorded for various record labels in the Chicago area, including J.O.B., Chess, Parrot, and Checker. The labels often spelled his name as 'LENORE'. His more popular songs included "Let's Roll", "The Mojo" ["The Mojo Boogie"] (featuring saxophonist J. T. Brown) and the controversial "Eisenhower Blues", which Parrot Records forced him to re-record as "Tax Paying Blues."[8]
Lenoir was known in the 1950s for his showmanship, particularly his zebra-patterned costumes, and his high-pitched vocals. He became an influential electric guitarist and songwriter and his penchant for social commentary distinguished him from many other blues men of the time.[3] His most commercially successful and enduring release was "Mamma Talk to Your Daughter", recorded for Parrot in 1954, which reached number 11 on the BillboardR&B chart and was later recorded by many other blues and rock musicians.[8] In the later 1950s, recording for Checker, he wrote several more blues standards, including "Don't Dog Your Woman" and "Don't Touch My Head!!!" (1956). [citation needed]
J.B. and Willie Dixon got together in 1962 in J.B.'s home and recorded 11 songs. Willie taped these as an audition tape for J.B. to go to Europe as part of the large blues packages then dominating the European blues scene. According to the album's liner notes, they're sitting down together, relaxed and private, talking, jiving and singing in a way that differs from a studio or club date.
In 1963, he recorded for USA Records as J. B. Lenoir and his African Hunch Rhythm, having developed an interest in African percussion.[3] In 1965 and 1966, Willie Dixon recorded him playing acoustic guitar with only drummer Fred Below accompanying him which was unusual at the time for a Chicago blues session. German blues promoter, Horst Lippman released these recordings on two albums, Alabama Blues and Down in Mississippi inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and Free Speech Movement.[3] Here, he again spoke his mind with songs like Alabama March, Vietnam Blues and (Every Child in Mississippi is) Born Dead.
Lenoir died on April 29, 1967, in Urbana, Illinois, at the age 38, of injuries he had suffered in a car crash three weeks earlier.[11]John Mayall paid tribute to the fallen bluesman with the songs "I'm Gonna Fight for You, J. B." and "The Death of J. B. Lenoir",[12] though in both songs, Mayall mispronounces Lenoir's name as /lɛnˈwɑːr/.[1]
Alabama Blues: Rare and Intimate Recordings (Snapper, 2004)
References
^ ab"J. B. Lenoir". Mississippi Blues Trail. Mississippi Blues Commission. Retrieved November 1, 2021. J. B. Lenoir (pronounced and sometimes misspelled "Lenore") was a distinctive blues artist, in both his high-pitched singing style and the candid political critiques in many of his song lyrics.