Johnny Temple (October 18, 1906 – November 22, 1968)[1] was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer, who was active in the 1930s and 1940s.[2] He was variously billed as Johnny Temple, Johnnie Temple and Johnnie "Geechie" Temple.
Life and career
Temple was born in Canton, Mississippi, and grew up around Jackson.[3] He learned to play guitar and mandolin as a child and began playing house parties as a teenager.[4] While in Jackson he befriended Skip James.[5] He moved to Chicago in the early 1930s and started playing with Joe McCoy in clubs.[3] Temple began recording songs such as "The Evil Devil Blues" and "Lead Pencil Blues" in 1935.[6] His most popular record, "Louise Louise Blues," released by Decca Records, was a hit in 1936.[7] The Harlem Hamfats, a Chicago jazz band formed in 1936, provided backup music for Temple and other singers.[3] By 1940, Decca had released two dozen of his records.[6]
Temple continued recording with various labels through most of the 1940s. His connection with the record producer Mayo Williams provided him with recording opportunities until 1949.[3] After World War II, Temple played an important role in welcoming blues musicians who arrived from the South.[5] Though his recording career ended, he continued to perform gigs, often alongside Big Walter Horton and Billy Boy Arnold. He returned to Mississippi in the mid-1950s, where he continued to perform in clubs and juke joints in and around Jackson.[4]
Temple eventually gave up the blues to become a minister.[5] He died of cancer on November 22, 1968,[1] aged 62, in Jackson.
