Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells (December 9, 1934 – January 15, 1998), born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist. Wells was best known for his performances and recordings with Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker, and Buddy Guy.
Junior Wells was possibly born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in West Memphis, Arkansas, though other sources report that his birth was in West Memphis, Arkansas. Initially taught by his cousin, Junior Parker, and Sonny Boy Williamson II, Wells learned how to play the harmonica by the age of seven with surprising skill and moved to Chicago in 1948 with his mother after her divorce. Wild and rebellious, but needing an outlet for his talents, he developed a more modern amplified harmonica style influenced by Little Walter. In 1952, he made his first recordings, when he replaced Little Walter in Muddy Waters' band and appeared on one of Muddy's sessions for Chess Records. His first recordings as a band leader were made in the following year for States Records. In the later 1950s and early 1960s, he also recorded singles for Chief Records and its Profile Records subsidiary, including "Messin' with the Kid", "Come on in This House", and "It Hurts Me Too", which would remain in his repertoire throughout his career.
Wells' album Hoodoo Man Blues (1965) on Delmark Records featured Buddy Guy on guitar. The two worked with the Rolling Stones on several occasions in the 1970s. Wells made an appearance in the film Blues Brothers 2000, which was released in 1998.
From Wells' "Hoodoo Man Blues" album cover Junior gives this story: "I went to this pawnshop downtown and the man had a harmonica priced at $2.00. I got a job on a soda truck... played hokey from school ... worked all week and on Saturday the man gave me a dollar and a half. A dollar and a half for a whole week of work. I went to the pawnshop and the man said the price was two dollars. I told him I had to have that harp. He walked away from the counter and left the harp there. So I laid my dollar-and-a-half on the counter and picked up the harp. When my trial came up, the judge asked me why I did it. I told him I had to have that harp. The judge asked me to play it, and when I did, he gave the man the 50 cents and hollered "Case dismissed!" (1948)
Wells began to have serious health problems, including cancer and a heart attack in 1997. He died in Chicago on January 15, 1998.
(Junior Wells at River Blues Festival in Philadelphia 1995)