Johnny Rawls

Johnny Rawls (born September 10, 1951)[2] is an American soul blues singer, guitarist, arranger, songwriter and record producer. He was influenced by the deep soul music of the 1960s, as performed by O. V. Wright, James Carr, and Z. Z. Hill, although his styling, production and lyrics are more contemporary in nature.[1][2]

Johnny Rawls
Rawls in 2015
Background information
Born (1951-09-10) September 10, 1951
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States
OriginPurvis, Mississippi
GenresSoul blues[1]
Occupation(s)Singer, guitarist, arranger, songwriter, producer
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals
Years active1970s–present
LabelsCatfood Records, various
Websitewww.johnnyrawlsblues.com

To date, Rawls has released more than fifteen albums under his name.[3] He has been nominated many times for a Blues Music Award,[4][5] and at the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony, Rawls' album, I'm Still Around, was named as the 'Soul Blues Album of the Year'.[6]

Life and career

Rawls was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States.[1][note 1] He was taught the rudiments of guitar playing by his blind grandfather, and also played the saxophone and clarinet in high school in Purvis, Mississippi.[1] Having mastered guitar playing by his mid teens, Rawls' schoolteacher arranged for him to back musicians who were touring through Mississippi, such as Z. Z. Hill and Joe Tex. In the mid 1970s, Rawls joined O. V. Wright's backing band, became his music director and played together with Wright until the latter's death in 1980. The band then continued billed as the Ace of Spades Band for another 13 years, and toured and performed with other musicians over this time span. These included B.B. King, Little Milton, Bobby Bland, Little Johnny Taylor, and Blues Boy Willie.[1] The band included the guitarist L.C. Luckett, and he and Rawls jointly released the 1994 album, Can't Sleep At Night, on Rooster Blues.[2]

His debut solo album, Here We Go, was released on JSP in 1996. The Allmusic journalist, Thom Owens, noted, "Rawls has a powerful, soulful voice which can make mediocre material sound convincing."[7] Rawls also worked as an arranger and record producer for JSP.[8] Further JSP releases included Louisiana Woman (1997), My Turn to Win (1999), and Put Your Trust in Me (2001), although by the time the latter was issued, Rawls had set up his own label, Deep South Soul.[2] Rawls appeared on the cover of the Living Blues magazine in April 2002, where he was described as "a soul-blues renaissance man".[4][8] The 2005 release No Boundaries, on Catfood Records increased his profile.[8]

His 2006 album Heart & Soul, was nominated for a Blues Music Award for 'Best Soul Blues Album of the Year'. In the same year, the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame named him 'Best Vocalist'. Rawls has performed several times at the Chicago Blues Festival and regularly at music festivals each year in the US and Canada. He has toured Europe on many occasions as well as in Japan and Australia. Red Cadillac (2008), Ace of Spades (2010) and Memphis Still Got Soul (2012) all won the Critics Choice Award for Best Album of the Year in Living Blues. He has also been honored, along with Little Milton and Tyrone Davis, with a Blues Trail Marker in Hattiesburg.[4] The title song of Rawls 2009 album, Ace of Spades, was a tribute to his one time mentor, O. V. Wright.[8] The album also garnered Rawls with his first Blues Music Award for 'Best Soul Blues Album of the Year'.[9]

Rawls album Memphis Still Got Soul, was released in April 2011, his fourth album for Catfood Records.[4][9] It was nominated for 2012 Blues Music Award for Soul Album of the Year, the title song for Song of the Year and Rawls for Male Soul Artist of the Year, his third nomination in that category. With a further reference to Wright, the album's track listing included Rawls cover of the song "Blind, Crippled and Crazy", which was originally associated with Wright.[5] His 2012 release, Soul Survivor, included another Wright song, "Eight Men Four Women". It was nominated for Soul Blues Album of the Year and Rawls was again nominated for Male Soul Artist of the Year at the 2013 Blues Music Awards. His 2013 release on Catfood Records, Remembering O.V., a tribute to O.V. Wright, featured Otis Clay as a special guest. Remembering O. V. was nominated for 2014 Soul Album of the Year and Rawls for Male Soul Artist of the Year, his 11th and 12th Blues Music Awards nominations.

In 2019, Rawls moved to Ohio's Third Street Cigar Records and since recorded three albums for the label, including I Miss Otis Clay (2019) and Where Have All The Soul Men Gone (2020). At the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony in 2019, Rawls' first album for Third Street, I'm Still Around, was named as the 'Soul Blues Album of the Year'.[6]

He is a prolific songwriter with over 100 of his songs recorded.[10] Rawls undertook co-production duties on all of his albums issued on Catfood Records, as well as on Barbara Carr's Keep The Fire Burning.[11]

Discography

Albums
YearTitleRecord labelNotes
1994Can't Sleep At NightRooster BluesBilled as Rawls & Luckett
1995Down to EarthRooster BluesBilled as Rawls & Luckett
1996Here We GoJSP Records
1997Louisiana WomanJSP Records
1999My Turn to WinJSP Records
2001Put Your Trust in MeJSP Records
2002Lucky ManDeep South Soul
2002Get Up & GoJSP RecordsCompilation album
2004Live in MontanaDeep South SoulLive album
2005No BoundariesTopcat Records/Catfood Records
2006Heart & SoulDeep South Soul
2008Red CadillacCatfood Records
2009Ace of SpadesCatfood Records
2011Memphis Still Got SoulCatfood Records
2012Soul SurvivorCatfood Records
2013Remembering O. V.Catfood Recordswith special guest Otis Clay
2016Tiger In A CageCatfood Records
2018I'm Still AroundThird Street Cigar Records
2019I Miss Otis ClayThird Street Cigar Records
2020Where Have All The Soul Men GoneThird Street Cigar Records

[2][3][8][12]

See also

Notes
  1. Some sources cite Columbia, Mississippi, as Rawls birth place.

References
  1. Richard Skelly. "Johnny Rawls | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  2. "Johnny Rawls". Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Music.us. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  3. "Johnny Rawls | Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  4. "Johnny Rawls - "Keep the Blues Alive"". Johnnyrawlsblues.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  5. "Johnny Rawls - artist bio". Markpuccimedia.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  6. "2019 Blues Music Awards Winners Announced". Antimusic.com. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  7. "Here We Go > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  8. "Johnny Rawls and The Rays". Catfoodrecords.com. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  9. Reverend Keith A. Gordon. "Johnny Rawls - Memphis Still Got Soul (2011)". Blues.about.com. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  10. "Johnny Rawls - Songs". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  11. "Keep The Fire Burning - Barbara Carr - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  12. "Third Street Cigar Records -". Thirdstreetcigarrecords.com. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
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