Long John Hunter

Long John Hunter (July 13, 1931 – January 4, 2016) was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.  He released seven albums in his name, and his later years found critical acknowledgment outside of his homeland. Hunter's best-known tracks are "El Paso Rock" and "Alligators Around My Door", the latter of which Hunter co-wrote with Bruce Iglauer.

John Thurman Hunter Jr. was born in Ringgold, Louisiana. He was raised on a farm in Magnolia, Arkansas, but by his early twenties was working in a box factory in Beaumont, Texas. He bought his first guitar after attending a B. B. King concert and then adopted the stage name of Long John Hunter in 1953.  Hunter saw his first single, "She Used to Be My Woman" b/w "Crazy Girl", released by Duke Records in 1953.  By 1957 he had relocated to El Paso, Texas, and found employment playing at the Lobby Club in Juárez, Mexico. He remained there for over thirteen years, seeing the release of several singles in the early 1960s on local record labels. These tracks included one of his most notable numbers, "El Paso Rock".

In 1988, his album, "Texas Border Town Blues" was released. In 1992, "Ride with Me" preceded a couple more albums for Alligator Records, "Border Town Legend"(1996) and "Swinging from the Rafters" (1997). In 1999, Hunter teamed up with Lonnie Brooks and Phillip Walker to release "Lone Star Shootout".

His most recent album release was "Looking for a Party" (2009).

(Long John Hunter at 3rd annual Poconos Blues Festival 1994)