Texas Johnny Brown

Texas Johnny Brown
Brown at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2008
Brown at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2008
Background information
Born(1928-02-22)February 22, 1928
Ackerman, Choctaw County, Mississippi, United States
DiedJuly 1, 2013(2013-07-01) (aged 85)
Houston, Texas, United States
GenresBlues[1]
Occupation(s)Guitarist, songwriter, singer
InstrumentGuitar
Years activeMid-1940s–2013
LabelsAtlantic, Choctaw Creek, among others
Websitewww.txjohnnybrown.com

Texas Johnny Brown, born John Riley Brown (February 22, 1928 – July 1, 2013) was an American blues guitarist, songwriter and singer, best known for his composition "Two Steps from the Blues". In a lengthy career, he worked with Joe Hinton, Amos Milburn, Ruth Brown, Bobby Bland, Lavelle White, Buddy Ace and Junior Parker.[2] He was born in Mississippi, but his long association with Houston, Texas, gave him his stage name.

Before his death, Allmusic noted that Brown "remains one of the more immovable veterans dotting the inexplicably low-key Houston blues landscape".[3] His jazzy guitar style of playing the blues has been attributed to the influence of Charlie Christian early in Brown's career.[4]

  1. ^ Chadbourne, Eugene (2002-01-22). "Texas Johnny Brown – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
  2. ^ Doc Rock. "July to December". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nothin' was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chron was invoked but never defined (see the help page).