Johnnie ‘Guitar’ Jones.

Soon after I first arrived in Nashville , a black musician friend of mine took me to a club on Jefferson Street ( then the hub of blues and R & B in town ) , to see Johnnie Jones play. I’d never heard of him , but he was held in awe by the local black community , and I quickly learned why . His playing was liquid , fiery and full-toned , and he was no slouch as a vocalist , although that was an area he seemed inclined to downplay .

I gradually heard about his role in mentoring and influencing the young Jimi Hendrix , and his contributions as a session man to many a noteworthy Nashville R&B record.

At one point he was hired by Bobby ‘ Blue’ Bland, and left town for a period , but eventually came back to his beloved Jefferson Street .

I finally got to work with him when the Champion Records Reunion Revue was booked into the Blues Estafette in Utrecht , Netherlands a few years ago. Blues entrepreneur Fred James assembled a crack house band to back Johnnie , Earl Gaines , Herbert Hunter and the granddaddy of Nashville R&B Ted Jarrett ( who also passed this year ) and I count myself fortunate that I got the call to play bass .

The rehearsals and warm-up shows were filmed by Peter Kimball for an as yet unproduced documentary , and Peter coined the term ‘Guitar Buddah’ to describe Johnny’s ever-present smiling demeanor....although he was a large man he never came off as threatening , just gentle, calm and constantly beaming.

On stage his presence was electric , however. In his signature Matador hat , with his blonde Epiphone hollow body , he was on fire. At that point he’d acquired a wireless rig instead of his 50 foot cord and he delighted in starting his set in his dressing room or when we got to Utrecht, on the cobbled square outside the auditorium , playing his way though the audience to the stage.

When we played the warm up shows in Nashville , there were many top-flight guitarists in attendance , including Scotty Moore and Richard Bennett , and Mr. Jones did not disappoint , unleashing searing solos with ease and aplomb.

His fame was never widespread , possibly due to a reluctance to stray too far from Nashville in general and Jefferson Street in particular  but he was a local hero  for sure. A memorial event ‘Tribute to a Legend - Johnny Jones’ is set for Monday evening, November 5th. at The Place , 217, 2nd. Ave S. 6 p.m. , with many a string-slinger in attendance.