Jimmy Burns
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Burns is an award winning American
soul blues
and electric blues
guitarist
, singer and songwriter
. Although he was born in the Mississippi Delta
, Burns has spent nearly all his life in Chicago
. His elder brother, Eddie "Guitar" Burns
, is a Detroit blues
musician.
who performed as a singer in medicine show
s. At the age of 12, Jimmy Burns moved with his family to Chicago
and four years later joined The Medallionaires who recorded a couple of doo-wop
tracks. Recording mostly solo in the 1960s, Burns issued singles
for the USA, Minit
, Tip Top and Erica labels
. He toured the Midwest
with his backing group, the Fantastic Epics, and with another outfit called Jimmy Burns and the Gas Company into the early 1970s. Burns then took a long break from the music industry to raise his family.
He performed infrequently until the early part of the 1990s, when he started a long residency at Chicago's Smokedaddy Club
. It was there that Delmark Records
boss Bob Koester
first heard Burns perform, and agreed to record him after hearing only one set of music. His debut album for Delmark in 1996, Leaving Here Walking, was produced by Scott Dirks, and was awarded the 'Best Blues Record of the Year' title by the National Association of Independent Record Distributors
, and received two W.C. Handy Award nominations. Burns then began touring internationally.
The more recently formed Jimmy Burns Band includes Anthony Palmer (guitar), E.G. McDaniel (bass), and James Carter (drums).
Jimmy Burns played guitar on his brother Eddie's 2002 album Snake Eyes.
Burns's wife, Dorothy, died on February 12, 2010. They had six children.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul blues
Soul blues
Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music...
and electric blues
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. Although he was born in the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
, Burns has spent nearly all his life in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. His elder brother, Eddie "Guitar" Burns
Eddie "Guitar" Burns
Eddie "Guitar" Burns is an American Detroit blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter...
, is a Detroit blues
Detroit blues
Detroit blues is blues music played by musicians resident in Detroit, Michigan, particularly that played in the 1940s and 1950s. Detroit blues originated when Delta blues performers migrated north from the Mississippi Delta and Memphis, Tennessee to work in Detroit's industrial plants in the 1920s...
musician.
Biography
Burns's father was a sharecropperSharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land . This should not be confused with a crop fixed rent contract, in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a fixed amount of...
who performed as a singer in medicine show
Medicine show
Medicine shows were traveling horse and wagon teams which peddled "miracle cure" medications and other products between various entertainment acts. Their precise origins unknown, medicine shows were common in the 19th century United States...
s. At the age of 12, Jimmy Burns moved with his family to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and four years later joined The Medallionaires who recorded a couple of doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
tracks. Recording mostly solo in the 1960s, Burns issued singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for the USA, Minit
Minit Records
Minit Records was a record label originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in Law by Ernie K-Doe. A number of Allen Toussaint productions were issued on Minit, including...
, Tip Top and Erica labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. He toured the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
with his backing group, the Fantastic Epics, and with another outfit called Jimmy Burns and the Gas Company into the early 1970s. Burns then took a long break from the music industry to raise his family.
He performed infrequently until the early part of the 1990s, when he started a long residency at Chicago's Smokedaddy Club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
. It was there that Delmark Records
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
boss Bob Koester
Bob Koester
Robert Gregg "Bob" Koester is the American founder and owner of Delmark Records, one of the oldest independent record labels in the United States, and one of jazz's best-known imprints...
first heard Burns perform, and agreed to record him after hearing only one set of music. His debut album for Delmark in 1996, Leaving Here Walking, was produced by Scott Dirks, and was awarded the 'Best Blues Record of the Year' title by the National Association of Independent Record Distributors
American Association of Independent Music
The American Association of Independent Music, or A2IM, is a not-for-profit trade organization serving the Independent music community as a unified voice representing a sector that comprises over 30% of the music industry's market share in the United States...
, and received two W.C. Handy Award nominations. Burns then began touring internationally.
The more recently formed Jimmy Burns Band includes Anthony Palmer (guitar), E.G. McDaniel (bass), and James Carter (drums).
Jimmy Burns played guitar on his brother Eddie's 2002 album Snake Eyes.
Burns's wife, Dorothy, died on February 12, 2010. They had six children.
Albums
- Leaving Here Walking (1996) - DelmarkDelmark RecordsDelmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
/ P-VineP-Vine RecordsP-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions, Inc., a firm in Tokyo, Japan established in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi... - Night Time Again (1999) - DelmarkDelmark RecordsDelmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
- Back to the Delta (2003) - Delmark
- Live at B.L.U.E.S. (2007) - Delmark
Singles
- "Forget It" (1964) - USA Records
- "Give Her To Me" (1965) - Tip Top Records
- "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" (1966) - Tip Top Records
- "I Don't Need (Your Help)" (1966) - Tip Top Records
- "I Tried" (1967?) - Minit RecordsMinit RecordsMinit Records was a record label originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak. After making a distribution deal with Imperial Records, the label released its biggest hit, the #1 Mother-in Law by Ernie K-Doe. A number of Allen Toussaint productions were issued on Minit, including...
- "I Really Love You" (1972) - Erica Records
- "Can't Get Over" (1980) - Dispo Records EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...