Back Alley John
Encyclopedia
Back Alley John (February 10, 1955 – June 22, 2006) was a Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player.
, where the jury included Muddy Waters
and John Hammond
. He later performed with Waters and Hammond at Ottawa's National Arts Centre
. He identified his influences as including Robert Johnson, Leadbelly
, Muddy Waters
, Little Walter
, Carrie Bell, Johnny Winter
, John Hammond
, Norm Clark and Dutch Mason
.
In 1980, with guitarist Drew Nelson
, he co-founded the Back Alley John Revue. They initially played in Ottawa clubs and busked on the streets of Ottawa during the early 1980s, particularly in Ottawa's Byward Market
, playing blues for passersby in front of the historic Chateau Lafayette House tavern. During this period, both Back Alley John and Drew Nelson were particularly supportive of the commencement of the blues career of Sue Foley
who, in 1984 at the age of sixteen, was singing and playing guitar with the Back Alley John Revue.
The popularity of The Back Alley John Revue grew beyond Ottawa. The group toured Canada on several occasions, but did not release an album.
It was in Calgary that Back Alley John developed his recording career, releasing four independently-distributed albums, and where he continued to develop his reputation as a blues performance artist. His recordings were subject to significant critical acclaim. By 1998, he was considered to have become one of the finest blues recording artists in North America. In 1999, he was a "Canadian Real Blues Award" winner, cited by Real Blues Magazine as the Best Canadian Unsigned Talent. In 2002, Calgary country and blues singer Ralph Boyd Johnson included the original song "(Hard Act to Follow) Back Alley John", referencing rougher elements of Back Alley John's life, on Johnson's debut album, Dyin' to Go.
Back Alley John remained based in Calgary for nearly twenty years, until his death. During this period, Back Alley John was noted for his generosity in sharing his talent with others. For example, blues harmonica player and vocalist Black Cherry Perry credits Back Alley John with helping Perry develop his own musical career, subsequent to the Perry's 2004 arrival in Calgary, through sharing information on harmonica playing and encouraging Black Cherry Perry to sit in at Back Alley John performances. When Back Alley John became too ill to continue as host of a weekly performance jam in Calgary, Black Cherry Perry was asked to take it over. Another Calgary musician, Sideshow Bob, credits Back Alley John as follows: "I broke into the Calgary music scene 'a few years' ago, performing with the legendary Blues artist Back Alley John. Now can you imagine a better start to a musician's career? Not me. I learned more from Back Alley than anyone else. He is a true musician and a true friend." Calgary blues harmonica player Dylan MacDonald cites Back Alley John as his "harmonica mentor": "He was a wealth of knowledge on the history of the blues, from the experience he gained by hanging and playing with the masters. I felt he was playing the real blues, not show or pop-styled blues, but the old stuff. Musically, what set John apart was his passion for the country blues style, and not glossing over the in-depth melodies and rhythms of this period of music."
and severe oxygen deprivation, necessitating a wheelchair and constant use of an oxygen tank, Back Alley John literally played the blues until his last breath. He continued to record and to contribute to the recordings of others. Two months before his death, having "flatlined in an ambulance, he somehow made his way to (Calgary's) Ambassador Motor Inn, where he got onstage for a final performance. 'He was so close to the end, really bad off, and I couldn't believe he could play,' (his brother) Peter said. 'It wasn't the John I knew, but he still sounded good. It was impressive, but it was heartwrenching, too.'" As the late Mick Joy, John's last steady bass player, close friend and roommate for seven years recalled, "In the final days, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, but it was amazing. He could barely breathe, but he could always pick up harp and blow the harp fine. It was like a mini-miracle every time."
He died in Calgary, Alberta in June 2006.
, 2006, a memorial concert was held in Calgary in honour of Back Alley John.
In February, 2008, Back Alley John was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Calgary Blues Music Association.
, founder and owner of Stony Plain Records
, has been particularly supportive, through his Saturday Night Blues
program on CBC Radio
.
Beginnings, 1969-1971: Ottawa to Venice, California
Born into a strict military family in Ottawa, Ontario, the young John Wilson rebelled and ran away from home, travelling to Venice Beach, California at the age of 14 in a stolen truck. He stayed in Venice for approximately two years, making a living as a busking harmonica player, and it was in Venice that he acquired the name "Back Alley John". As his brother, Peter Wilson, recalls, "When he got (to Venice), he needed money and he had been playing harmonica since he was little, so he started busking. The street people there kind of took him under their wing and they said 'Listen John, you can't busk on the street 'cause you'll get arrested. You've gotta busk in the back alleys.' So he busked in the back alleys of Venice for a couple of years and that's how he was named Back Alley John."1971-1988: Venice to Ottawa and The Back Alley John Revue
Deported back to Canada, Back Alley John continued to develop his harmonica and singing skills in the Ottawa area. Back Alley John's early reputation was enhanced when he won the harmonica competition at the Ottawa BluesfestOttawa Bluesfest
The Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest is an annual outdoor music festival that takes place each July in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. While ostensibly focused on blues, the festival has increasingly showcased mainstream pop and rock acts in recent years...
, where the jury included Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
and John Hammond
John P. Hammond
John Paul Hammond is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr.".-Background:...
. He later performed with Waters and Hammond at Ottawa's National Arts Centre
National Arts Centre
The National Arts Centre is a centre for the performing arts located in Ottawa, Ontario, between Elgin Street and the Rideau Canal...
. He identified his influences as including Robert Johnson, Leadbelly
Leadbelly
Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....
, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, Little Walter
Little Walter
Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
, Carrie Bell, Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
, John Hammond
John P. Hammond
John Paul Hammond is an American blues singer and guitarist. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as "John Hammond, Jr.".-Background:...
, Norm Clark and Dutch Mason
Dutch Mason
Dutch Mason, CM was a Canadian musician from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was inducted into the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2005.-Career:...
.
In 1980, with guitarist Drew Nelson
Drew Nelson (musician)
Drew Nelson is a Canadian blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and recording artist. Nelson is particularly known for his slide guitar playing. He has been playing professionally for over thirty years.-History:...
, he co-founded the Back Alley John Revue. They initially played in Ottawa clubs and busked on the streets of Ottawa during the early 1980s, particularly in Ottawa's Byward Market
Byward Market
ByWard Market is a district in Lower Town located east of the government & business district, surrounding the market buildings and open-air market on George, York, ByWard and William Streets.The district is bordered on the west by Sussex Drive, on the...
, playing blues for passersby in front of the historic Chateau Lafayette House tavern. During this period, both Back Alley John and Drew Nelson were particularly supportive of the commencement of the blues career of Sue Foley
Sue Foley
Sue Foley is a Canadian blues singer and guitarist.-Career:Foley has been writing and playing professionally since 1984. She has recorded ten albums, for both Antone's Records and Shanachie Records. She has spent over fourteen years on the road as a bandleader, lead vocalist, guitarist and...
who, in 1984 at the age of sixteen, was singing and playing guitar with the Back Alley John Revue.
The popularity of The Back Alley John Revue grew beyond Ottawa. The group toured Canada on several occasions, but did not release an album.
1988-2006: Calgary
The Back Alley John Revue ended when Back Alley John fell seriously ill and in 1988 decided to relocate to Calgary, Alberta, to be near his brother Peter.It was in Calgary that Back Alley John developed his recording career, releasing four independently-distributed albums, and where he continued to develop his reputation as a blues performance artist. His recordings were subject to significant critical acclaim. By 1998, he was considered to have become one of the finest blues recording artists in North America. In 1999, he was a "Canadian Real Blues Award" winner, cited by Real Blues Magazine as the Best Canadian Unsigned Talent. In 2002, Calgary country and blues singer Ralph Boyd Johnson included the original song "(Hard Act to Follow) Back Alley John", referencing rougher elements of Back Alley John's life, on Johnson's debut album, Dyin' to Go.
Back Alley John remained based in Calgary for nearly twenty years, until his death. During this period, Back Alley John was noted for his generosity in sharing his talent with others. For example, blues harmonica player and vocalist Black Cherry Perry credits Back Alley John with helping Perry develop his own musical career, subsequent to the Perry's 2004 arrival in Calgary, through sharing information on harmonica playing and encouraging Black Cherry Perry to sit in at Back Alley John performances. When Back Alley John became too ill to continue as host of a weekly performance jam in Calgary, Black Cherry Perry was asked to take it over. Another Calgary musician, Sideshow Bob, credits Back Alley John as follows: "I broke into the Calgary music scene 'a few years' ago, performing with the legendary Blues artist Back Alley John. Now can you imagine a better start to a musician's career? Not me. I learned more from Back Alley than anyone else. He is a true musician and a true friend." Calgary blues harmonica player Dylan MacDonald cites Back Alley John as his "harmonica mentor": "He was a wealth of knowledge on the history of the blues, from the experience he gained by hanging and playing with the masters. I felt he was playing the real blues, not show or pop-styled blues, but the old stuff. Musically, what set John apart was his passion for the country blues style, and not glossing over the in-depth melodies and rhythms of this period of music."
Illness and death
Back Alley John's career was cut short by respiratory disease, which resulted in him being in continuous third party care for the last two years of his life. Notwithstanding his physical challenges, which included hepatitisHepatitis
Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...
and severe oxygen deprivation, necessitating a wheelchair and constant use of an oxygen tank, Back Alley John literally played the blues until his last breath. He continued to record and to contribute to the recordings of others. Two months before his death, having "flatlined in an ambulance, he somehow made his way to (Calgary's) Ambassador Motor Inn, where he got onstage for a final performance. 'He was so close to the end, really bad off, and I couldn't believe he could play,' (his brother) Peter said. 'It wasn't the John I knew, but he still sounded good. It was impressive, but it was heartwrenching, too.'" As the late Mick Joy, John's last steady bass player, close friend and roommate for seven years recalled, "In the final days, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, but it was amazing. He could barely breathe, but he could always pick up harp and blow the harp fine. It was like a mini-miracle every time."
He died in Calgary, Alberta in June 2006.
Tributes: 2006 and 2008
On Canada DayCanada Day
Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...
, 2006, a memorial concert was held in Calgary in honour of Back Alley John.
In February, 2008, Back Alley John was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Calgary Blues Music Association.
Postscripts
Back Alley John's music continues to receive national radio play. Holger PetersenHolger Petersen
Holger Petersen, CM is a Canadian businessman, record producer and radio broadcaster. He owns and operates the independent roots music label Stony Plain Records, and hosts the programs Saturday Night Blues on CBC Radio One and Natch'l Blues on the CKUA Radio Network. Petersen was a founder of the...
, founder and owner of Stony Plain Records
Stony Plain Records
Stony Plain Records is a major Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk and blues. The label was the recipient of a 2003 Western Canadian Music Award for "Independent Record Label/Distributor of the Year"....
, has been particularly supportive, through his Saturday Night Blues
Saturday Night Blues
Saturday Night Blues is a Canadian radio program, which airs Saturday nights on CBC Radio One. Hosted by Holger Petersen, the program airs a mix of blues concerts, recordings and interviews with blues musicians. SNB first broadcast in 1986....
program on CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
.
Discography
- Sampler, Volume 1 (2007) Killfloor Records
- Live at the Duke (2005) Back Alley John and The Tra La Las
- One-Way Ticket to Palookaville (1997)
- More A Feeling Than A Living (1995)
- Out On The Highway (1993)
- Share CHEZ 83 (1983) CHEZ-FMCHEZ-FMCHEZ-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts classic rock at 106.1 FM in Ottawa. The station uses the brand name CHEZ 106 .-History:...
Compilation containing one Back Alley John song, "Nothing to Show".
External links
- Back Alley John Personal Webpage Created while alive as booking site and to promote recordings; currently inactive. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
- Back Alley John Official Website Tribute site.
- Back Alley John MySpace Page Initially developed while living; now a tribute site.