(Lucious Brinson)
DISCOGRAPHY 1969-1994 (13CD)
AllMusic journalist Ron Wynn stated, "Johnson's own inimitable
vocals, raspy lines and tart guitar eventually create his own aura...
a good, occasionally outstanding blues artist." He is not to be
confused with Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, nor Luther "Houserocker"
Johnson, from Atlanta, Georgia.
He was born in Davisboro, Georgia. Sources give different years of
birth, ranging from 1934 to 1941 (according to his headstone),
though 1939 has also been published. He was raised on a farm and
taught himself to play guitar.
After completing his service in the US Army, Johnson played guitar
with the Milwaukee Supreme Angels, a local gospel group in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, he gravitated towards blues and
formed his own trio in Milwaukee. He relocated to Chicago, Illinois,
in the early 1960s.
He backed Elmore James prior to his James's death in 1963, and
joined Muddy Waters' backing band in 1966. Johnson worked with
various musicians during this period, including Chicago Bob Nelson.
He recorded his debut album, Come On Home, in 1968, with Muddy
Waters' band.
In 1970, Johnson moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and found work on
the blues festival and college circuits for the next few years. His
album Born in Georgia was released by Black & Blue Records. It
was followed by Chicken Shack (1974), Lonesome in My Bedroom (1975),
and the final album issued in his lifetime, Get Down to the Nitty
Gritty (1976). On records issued in his lifetime, he was credited as
either Luther Johnson or Luther "Georgia Boy" Johnson, though he was
also known to contemporaries as Luther "Snake" Johnson.
Johnson died of cancer in Boston on March 18, 1976. He was interred
at the Mount Hope Cemetery, in Mattapan, Massachusetts.