Moody Jones
Encyclopedia
Moody Jones was an American
blues
guitar
ist, bass
player, and singer, who is significant for his role in the development of the post-war Chicago blues
sound in the late 1940s.
, Arkansas
, United States
, on 8 April 1908. Raised in the church, he developed an interest in music at an early age and learned to play guitar after his brother bought an old broken guitar for $3. When he was proficient enough he started playing for country dances, and by 1939 had arrived in Chicago. In Chicago he became one of a number of musicians, performing on Maxwell Street
and in non-union venues, who played an important role in the development of the post-war Chicago blues sound, often performing with his first cousin, singer and guitar player Floyd Jones
. By the late 1940s he was capable of playing any kind of music requested, and had learned to play piano
, banjo
and bass (including a home-made bass made out of a wash-tub, a broom-handle and a clothes line), in addition to guitar. He was regarded by his contemporaries as the best guitar player on the Chicago scene, and was warned by noted slide guitar
player Muddy Waters
not to “fool with that slide” when Jones sat in with Waters’ band one night.
Jones is most significant, and best known, for his association with his cousin Floyd Jones and harmonica
player Snooky Pryor, and for the singles he recorded with them in 1948 which were among the first recorded examples of the new style. The track “Snooky and Moody’s Boogie” is said to have been the inspiration for Little Walter
’s 1952 hit “Juke
”. Jones made further recordings for the JOB label in the early 1950’s, backing musicians such as Snooky Pryor and Johnny Shines
. He sang three numbers on a 1952 session, but these were not released at the time, according to Jones because label owner Joe Brown thought his voice was “too rough”. One of the songs, “Rough Treatment”, was recorded and released by singer and guitarist Little Hudson (Hudson Shower) for the same label the following year.
After 1953 Jones stopped playing blues and joined a gospel
group, and by 1955 he had become pastor of a Sanctified church.
Jones died in Chicago, on March 23, 1988.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist, bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
player, and singer, who is significant for his role in the development of the post-war Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
sound in the late 1940s.
Life and career
Jones was born in EarleEarle, Arkansas
Earle is a city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,036 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Earle is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land....
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, on 8 April 1908. Raised in the church, he developed an interest in music at an early age and learned to play guitar after his brother bought an old broken guitar for $3. When he was proficient enough he started playing for country dances, and by 1939 had arrived in Chicago. In Chicago he became one of a number of musicians, performing on Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street
Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the...
and in non-union venues, who played an important role in the development of the post-war Chicago blues sound, often performing with his first cousin, singer and guitar player Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones was an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter, who is significant as one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II. A number of Jones' recordings are regarded as classics of the Chicago blues idiom, and his song "On...
. By the late 1940s he was capable of playing any kind of music requested, and had learned to play piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and bass (including a home-made bass made out of a wash-tub, a broom-handle and a clothes line), in addition to guitar. He was regarded by his contemporaries as the best guitar player on the Chicago scene, and was warned by noted slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
player Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
not to “fool with that slide” when Jones sat in with Waters’ band one night.
Jones is most significant, and best known, for his association with his cousin Floyd Jones and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player Snooky Pryor, and for the singles he recorded with them in 1948 which were among the first recorded examples of the new style. The track “Snooky and Moody’s Boogie” is said to have been the inspiration for 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...
’s 1952 hit “Juke
Juke (song)
"Juke" is a harmonica instrumental recorded by then 22-year-old Chicago bluesman Little Walter Jacobs in 1952. Although Little Walter had been recording sporadically for small Chicago labels over the previous five years, and had appeared on Muddy Waters' records for the Chess label since 1950, Juke...
”. Jones made further recordings for the JOB label in the early 1950’s, backing musicians such as Snooky Pryor and Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines was an American blues singer and guitarist. According to the music journalist Tony Russell, "Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth...
. He sang three numbers on a 1952 session, but these were not released at the time, according to Jones because label owner Joe Brown thought his voice was “too rough”. One of the songs, “Rough Treatment”, was recorded and released by singer and guitarist Little Hudson (Hudson Shower) for the same label the following year.
After 1953 Jones stopped playing blues and joined a gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
group, and by 1955 he had become pastor of a Sanctified church.
Jones died in Chicago, on March 23, 1988.