Junior Kimbrough

Biography

David "Junior" Kimbrough was born on July 28, 1930, in Hudsonville, Mississippi, and lived in the North Mississippi Hill Country near Holly Springs. His father was a barber who played guitar, and Junior picked up the instrument as a child. He was influenced early on by guitarists Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Eli Green. In the late 1950s, Kimbrough began developing his distinctive style, characterized by mid-tempo rhythms and a steady drone played with his thumb on the bass strings, which would later be recognized as a prime example of hill country blues.

Kimbrough's music was marked by tricky syncopations between his droning bass strings and midrange melodies, with a modal soloing style featuring languorous runs in the middle and upper registers. Music critic Robert Palmer described the result as "hypnotic," and the polyrhythmic nature of his work linked it explicitly to African musical traditions. After years of performing in juke joints and house parties throughout the Mississippi hills, Kimbrough gained national attention in 1992 with his debut album "All Night Long," produced by Robert Palmer for Fat Possum Records. He operated several juke joints, including the Chewalla Rib Shack (opened in 1990) and Junior's Place in Chulahoma near Holly Springs, where visitors from around the world came to experience his unique brand of "cotton patch blues."

Kimbrough's career flourished in the 1990s with additional albums including "Sad Days, Lonely Nights" (1994) and "Most Things Haven't Worked Out" (1997). He died of a heart attack following a stroke on January 17, 1998, in Holly Springs at age 67. His influence extended far beyond traditional blues, inspiring alternative rock and trance music devotees. The rockabilly musician Charlie Feathers called him "the beginning and end of all music," a tribute that appears on Kimbrough's tombstone outside the Kimbrough Chapel Missionary Baptist Church near Holly Springs.

Fun Facts

• Junior Kimbrough was the father of 36 children from various relationships
• He called his music 'cotton patch blues' or 'cotton patch soul blues,' a custom maintained by his family of musicians
• His juke joint Junior's Place was located in a building that was previously used as a church in Chulahoma
• Charlie Feathers' tribute calling him 'the beginning and end of all music' is inscribed on Kimbrough's tombstone

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Lightnin' Hopkins - Early guitar influence (Stylistic influence on Kimbrough's guitar playing) [1940s-1950s]
• Mississippi Fred McDowell - Guitar influence and hill country blues tradition (Influenced Kimbrough's hill country blues style) [1940s-1950s]
• Eli Green - Guitar influence (Early musical influence) [1940s-1950s]

Key Collaborators

• R.L. Burnside - Long-time associate and fellow North Mississippi bluesman (The Burnside and Kimbrough families often collaborated on musical projects) [1980s-1990s]
• Kent 'Kinney' Kimbrough - Son who played drums (All Night Long album (1992)) [1990s]
• GARRY_BURNSIDE - R.L. Burnside's son, played bass guitar (All Night Long album (1992), Sad Days Lonely Nights video) [1990s]
• George Scales - Bassist in the Soul Blues Boys (Keep Your Hands off Her / I Feel Good, Little Girl (1982)) [1980s]
• Calvin Jackson - Drummer in the Soul Blues Boys (Keep Your Hands off Her / I Feel Good, Little Girl (1982)) [1980s]

Artists Influenced

• The Black Keys - Released entire album of Junior Kimbrough covers (Chulahoma album, also appeared on Sunday Nights: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough tribute album) [2000s]
• Iggy Pop - Toured with Kimbrough and was influenced by his music (Iggy & The Stooges appeared on Sunday Nights: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough tribute album) [1990s-2000s]
• Mark Lanegan - Influenced by Kimbrough's music (Appeared on Sunday Nights: The Songs of Junior Kimbrough tribute album) [2000s]
• Richard Johnston - Kimbrough protégé who continues the musical tradition (Performs live on Beale Street in Memphis with one of Junior's sons) [2000s-present]

Source: Wikipedia

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Meet Me in the City (First Recordings)
2. Feels so Good #1 (First Recordings)
3. I Gotta Try You Girl (God Knows I Tried)
4. Meet Me in the City (Meet Me in the City)
5. Most Things Haven't Worked Out (Most Things Haven't Worked Out)
6. Do the Romp (All Night Long)
7. Lonesome in My Home (First Recordings)
8. Done Got Old (First Recordings)
9. Feels so Bad - Previously Unreleased Take
10. Feels so Good #2 (First Recordings)

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia