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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Junior Wells| image = JuniorWells1996.jpg| caption = Wells performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival , 1996| image_size = | background = solo_singer| birth_name = Amos Wells Blakemore Jr.| alias =| birth_date = birth date|1934|12|9| death_date = death date and age|1998|1|15|1934|12|9| death_place = Chicago , Illinois , United States| origin = Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis , Tennessee or West Memphis, Arkansas|West Memphis , Arkansas | instrument = Vocals, harmonica| genre = Chicago blues | occupation = Musician , Songwriter | years_active = 1950sndash1997| label = States Records|States , Chief Records|Chief , Profile Records (Chief Records subsidiary)|Profile , Delmark Records|Delmark , Vanguard Records|Vanguard , Telarc Records|Telarc | associated_acts = The Aces (blues band)|The Aces Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band Buddy Guy | website =| notable_instruments = Junior Wells (December 9, 1934ndashJanuary 15, 1998), born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr. , http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1998.html Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed May 2009 was an United States|American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist. Wells, who was best known for his performances and recordings with Muddy Waters , Earl Hooker , and Buddy Guy , also performed with Bonnie Raitt , The Rolling Stones , and Van Morrison .
Life and career
Junior Wells was born in Memphis, Tennessee , United States , and raised in West Memphis, Arkansas , though other sources report that his birth was in West Memphis.cite news|url= http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/17/arts/junior-wells-central-player-in-chicago-blues-is-dead-at-63.html|title=Junior Wells, Central Player in Chicago Blues is Dead at age 63|accessdate=October 11, 2010 | work=The New York Times|first=Ben|last=Ratliff|date=January 17, 1998 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. He moved to Chicago in 1948 with his mother after her divorce and began sitting in with local musicians at house parties and taverns. Wild and rebellious but needing an outlet for his talents, he began performing with The Aces (guitarist brothers Dave and Louis Myers and drummer Fred Below) and 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 Waters' sessions for Chess Records in 1952. His first recordings as a band leader were made in the following year for States Records .The United and States Labels Part I http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/unitedstates.html Accessed August 11, 2009 In the later 1950s and early 1960s he also recorded singles for Chief Records and its Profile Records (Chief Records subsidiary)|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. His 1960 Profile single "Little by Little" (written by Chief owner and producer Mel London ) reached #23 in the Billboard R& B chart , making it the first of two Wells' singles to enter the chart. cite book| last = Whitburn | first = Joel | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Top R& B Singles 1942-1988 | publisher = Record Research, Inc | year = 1988 | location = | page = 438 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0898200687
Junior Wells worked with guitarist Buddy Guy in the 1960s, and featured Guy on guitar when he recorded his first album, Hoodoo Man Blues for Delmark Records .cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues - From Robert Johnson (musician)|Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher=Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | pages= 183–184 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X Wells and Guy supported the Rolling Stones on numerous occasions in the 1970s. Although his albums South Side Blues Jam (1971) and On Tap (1975) proved he had not lost his aptitude for Chicago blues , his 1980s and 1990s gramophone record|discs were inconsistent. However, 1996's Come On in This House was an intriguing set of classic blues songs with a rotating cast of slide guitarists, among them Alvin Youngblood Hart , Corey Harris , Sonny Landreth and Derek Trucks . Wells made an appearance in the film Blues Brothers 2000 , the sequel to The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers , which was released in 1998.cite web |first= |last= |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p571|pure_url=yes |title=Biography by Bill Dahl |publisher=Allmusic.com |accessdate=May 21, 2009
Wells continued performing until he was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 1997. That fall, he suffered a Myocardial infarction|heart attack while undergoing treatment, sending him into a coma. Wells died in Chicago, after succumbing to lymphoma on January 15, 1998, and was interred in the Oak Woods Cemetery, Chicago .
Wells was mentioned in the Steppenwolf song, "Tighten Up Your Wig", in which the lyrics explicitly state that they copied the music from Junior Wells' tune, "Messing with the Kid".
http://centerstage.net/music/whoswho/JuniorWells.html Centerstage Chicago Obituary
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http://elvispelvis.com/junior.htm Elvis Pelvis Obituary
http://www.island.net/~blues/junior.html Island Net Obituary
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p571|label=Junior Wells
Persondata | NAME =Blakemore Jr., Amos Wells | ALTERNATIVE NAMES =Wells, Junior | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist | DATE OF BIRTH =December 9, 1934 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Memphis, Tennessee , United States | DATE OF DEATH =January 15, 1998 | PLACE OF DEATH = Chicago , Illinois , United States DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Junior Category:1934 births Category:1998 deaths Category:African American musicians Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Blues revival musicians Category:American blues harmonica players Category:Deaths from lymphoma Category:Cancer deaths in Illinois Category:Harmonica blues musicians Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:People from West Memphis, Arkansas Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Chicago blues musicians Category:Vanguard Records artists
