On New Year’s Eve 2011, a man walks into B.L.U.E.S on Halsted in northern Chicago at 8:45 p.m. Sporting a black shirt, green cardigan, red pants, and a shiny gold cross around his neck, he might appear to be a cab driver to unsuspecting patrons. At 83, blues legend Jimmy Johnson straps on his dusty guitar and begins to test his equipment in preparation for the three full sets he will perform that night, pleasing the crowd late into the night and delivering them some soul to ring in the new rear.
Quietly walking around the bar, chatting with the already tipsy patrons who approach him, Johnson is as humble as they come. Sitting at a nearby table, Johnson settles in to watch his backing band warm up the crowd. While combining to form The Jimmy Johnson Blues Band, Mike Wheeler (guitar), Big Ray (drums/vocals), and Larry Williams (bass) each perform solo, though they usually play together in one form or another. Wheeler’s rock-twinged blues style sets himself apart from the traditional Chicago blues standard. The trio’s three opening songs were well worth the cover charge alone, as they finished with a fantastic rendition of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Family Affair,” with drummer Big Ray at the mic.
Soon enough, the man of the hour popped onto the minuscule bandstand and set the evening off. Opening with Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign,” Johnson’s heartfelt vocals and crisp picking have lost nothing since he was in his recording heyday.
Underrated in his prime and overlooked by the mainstream, Johnson is an anomaly. With the ability to take classic blues riffs and infuse them with his special brand of southern soul, he creates new spins on familiar works without changing the foundation. His New Year’s Eve performance of the song “Cold, Cold Feeling” (not written by Johnson, but a staple of his 1983 masterpiece, Bar Room Preacher) exhibited moment-to-moment perfection — play a recording of the live performance, and you might think it came from the studio album, yet both formats carry their own style and provocative power.
The highlight of the night’s opening set came in the form of a stripped down rearrangement of the song “End of a Rainbow” from his 1994 comeback album I’m a Jockey. The bittersweet tale of a man who went chasing his dream to find out the search only caused him more pain and suffering, it doesn’t sound like the perfect New Year’s Eve jingle. Johnson himself lamented before jumping into the tune that the song apparently wasn’t good enough to make it on the radio. The song, however — a rich tune with catchy horns, soulful organs, and an infectious finale — is shockingly catchy; I myself cannot fathom how this song was not a hit. In the live incarnation, the horns and keys are gone, and a primal downbeat accompanies the ending siren call that has been infused throughout.
From the moment the song ended, I wanted that performance on a CD, on a vinyl LP, and in digital form. It’s not the most uplifting track in the world, and it certainly won’t be replacing “Auld Lang Syne” anytime soon — it wasn’t even played at the stroke of midnight — but if I had my way, every year on December 31st at 11:59pm, I would be sitting comfortably, hearing Jimmy Johnson cry out, “Going, I’m going, I’m going home!” The thought is enough to make my eyes well up with tears.