A few years back, I got a chance to hear Jimmy Johnson at a blues joint in Chicago. The friend who took me, a lifelong Chicagoan and live music devotee, told me this week that Jimmy had died. So had his brother Syl, the source of a lot of hip hop samples. (Here’s a tribute to the brothers.)
Jimmy was “old” when I saw him perform, but he had lost none of his fire. And he made it look so effortless. To accept the crowd’s applause, he would mouth the words “thank you” while he pulled his finger up and down the fret, mimicking the sound of the words.
In their honor, here is Jimmy’s brother Syl performing an Al Green classic. I think it’s better than Green’s, who apparently was his label mate. Green apparently agreed!