Photo: Lioneldecoster · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 2 · legacy legend
Luther Johnson
Person · male · United States · Itta Bena · born 1939 · died 2022 · recording since 1975
American Chicago blues singer and guitarist (1939–2022)
ticketsdatabasedatabasedatabase
Also known as Luther "Guitar Jr" Johnson · Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson · Luther Johnson · Luther Johnson Jr. · Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson · ルーサー・ジョンソン
Timeline
9 events▣ Album 6◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1930s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Lonesome in My Bedroom
First documented Single in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Biography
English biography201 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1337531682
Biography
Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson (April 11, 1939 – December 25, 2022) was an American blues singer and guitarist.
Career
Born in Itta Bena, Mississippi, Johnson moved to Chicago with his family in 1955. During the 1960s, he performed with Magic Sam. He performed in Muddy Waters' band from 1972 to 1980. In 1980, four of his songs were included in an anthology released by Alligator Records. That same year he appeared as a member of the Legendary Blues Band, backing John Lee Hooker in the movie The Blues Brothers.
Johnson moved to the East Coast and began fronting his own band, the Magic Rockers. His "Walkin' the Dog" was recorded live at the Montreux Festival's Blues Night. He won a Grammy Award in 1985 for Best Traditional Blues Album for his part in Blues Explosion. He recorded three albums released by Telarc Records: Slammin’ on the West Side (1996), Got to Find a Way (1998), and Talkin' About Soul (2001). He also performed on three albums by the Nighthawks.
Johnson lived in Antrim, New Hampshire for many years but moved to Florida in 2017. He died on December 25, 2022, at the age of 83 and is survived by his wife, Lottie.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 6 | 86.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 9 | 85.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 40 | 80.2th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (11 release groups · 6 studio albums)
Albums · 6
1992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 51:05
1Back at the Chicken Shack5:382Come Baby4:123Too Many Drivers5:124Sweet Home Chicago4:435Luther’s Blues5:336I Can’t Stop5:297Nobody Wants to Lose5:248Mother-In-Law4:439Better Watch Yourself3:0410Little Queenie3:5211Boogie in the Dark3:151992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 43:56
1Feel So Bad5:122Come on Back to Me3:053Deep Down in Florida3:544I'm Leaving You3:015If You Love Me Like You Say2:486I Wonder4:167Stealin' Chicken4:148It's Good to Me3:319Raise Your Window3:2010Next-Door Neighbor2:5811That's All I Need3:2912In My Younger Days4:081994 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 55:14
1Walkin' With You Baby4:172If the Blues Was Whiskey5:313Big Leg Woman4:194Called Me on the Phone Last Night5:325You Told Me Baby3:306Southern Country Boy3:577I'm a King Bee3:408Can't Come Home4:069I'm Going Back, Back, Back3:5210I Love You4:3311Whiskey Drinkin' Woman4:5412Ain't Treatin' Me Right2:5713You Belong to Me4:061997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 52:02
1Doin’ the Sugar Too4:012Flippin’ and Floppin’2:563I’m Ready3:314I Need Some Air5:275Woke Up This Mornin’4:446Hard Times (Have Surely Come)3:287Get on the Floor4:568Time to Make My Getaway4:199Bad Boy3:2610You Were Wrong3:5511Early in the Mornin’ Blues4:1312What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You4:0113Doin’ the Sugar Too (alternate take)3:052001 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 52:44
1Talkin' About Soul2:592I've Got a Woman3:353Somebody Have Mercy4:524It's Your Thing - I'll Pay You Back3:075Lonesome Whistle Blues3:586Crazy Over You3:437Ramblin' Blues4:518You've Got Bad Intentions - Crying Won't Help You3:379Why Are People Like That2:3110Poison Ivy4:0611Suffer So Hard With the Blues6:1512No Worry No More4:5813I'm Gone4:122015 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 34:12
A1Coming Home Baby2:43A2Top of the Boogaloo3:45A3Blues for Hippies2:38A4Remember Me5:53A5Evil2:37B1Sad Day Uptown3:50B2Digging My Potatoes3:09B3Sting It2:30B4Natural Hair Wig3:15B5Why'd You Do Me3:52
Single · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Lonesome in My BedroomSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track · 6:261Lonesome in My Bedroom6:26 | Live | 1975 |
Album · 4
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Ma Bea’s RockSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 8 tracks · 37:51A1So Many Roads6:31 A2Crosscut Saw4:12 A3Ma Bea’s Rock3:15 A4Feel So Bad4:26 B1I Believe My Time Ain’t Long4:56 B2All Your Love4:41 B3You Gotta Have Soul4:17 B4My Own Fault5:33 | Live | 15 October 1975 | |
| 1980 | Living Chicago Blues, Volume 6Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 12 tracks · 42:34A1If I Hadn’t Been High4:02 A2Some Nerve3:04 A3Somebody to Shack5:20 A4I Got Money2:36 A5Somebody Have Mercy3:03 A6Got to Have Money3:17 B1Just Like Mama Said3:00 B2Look What You Done3:48 B3Going Upstairs4:57 B4Blues This Morning2:06 B5Tired of Being Pushed Around2:52 B6Please Let Me Stay4:29 | Compilation | 1980 | |
| 1993 | Charly Blues Masterworks, Volume 1: The CrawlSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks · 31:081The Crawl2:15 2Family Rules (Angel Child)2:22 3I Got It Made (When I Married Shirley Mae)2:04 4Tell Me Baby2:10 5Now You Know!2:24 6Roll Roll Roll2:21 7Roll Roll Roll (Alt. Take)2:31 8Broken Hearted Rollin' Tears2:35 9Please2:09 10Pick Me Up On Your Way Down2:29 11Love Me, Love Me2:01 12Knock Me Out Fine, Fine, Fine1:57 13Love Me, Love, Mary Ann1:51 14Oo Wee Baby1:59 | Compilation | 1993 | |
| 1999 | Live at The RynbornSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 11 tracks · 48:311I Don't Know Why3:39 2You Don't Have to Go4:11 3What You've Been Putting Down5:09 4It's My Life Baby4:27 5Stealin' Chicken4:04 6Love Me Baby2:58 7Five Long Years5:23 8Hello Josephine4:12 9C as in Chester4:41 10If Blues Where Whiskey3:59 11Rynborn Boogie5:48 | Live | 1 January 1999 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Luther Johnson head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 8 | 49.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 11 | 82.8th |
| Studio albums | 6 | 86.1th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 9 | 85.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 40 | 80.2th |
| Genres | 3 | 80.4th |
Awards & honours
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson and The Magic Rockers(band) | — | present | |
| The Muddy Waters Band(band) | 1973 | 1979 |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luther_Johnson_Jr.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c313873b-b84e-4594-8edb-f304586d03b1discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c313873b-b84e-4594-8edb-f304586d03b1core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1877839genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1877839seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_%22Guitar_Junior%22_Johnsonbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_%22Guitar_Junior%22_Johnson
Why this artist is in the database
- List of blues musicians — rank #102
Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson | 1939 | 2022 | Mississippi | Electric blues |
Tier rule: genre canon: blues
Image: Lioneldecoster · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1877839 · MusicBrainz: c313873b-b84e-4594-8edb-f304586d03b1
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