(Modern Electric Blues) [CD] Johnny Laws - Blues Burnin' In My Soul - 1999, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

A maestro of seductive, soul-drenched blues, Chicago's Johnny Laws has been overlooked for far too long. His is a unique voice in the genre: exquisite vocals that are smooth as velvet, sensuous as silk. Saturated with large measures of soul, r&b, country and jazz, Laws's blues are crafted into an irresistible groove that further defines his style.

Johnny Laws was born on Chicago's South Side on January 12, 1943, the eldest of six children. His parents were both from Memphis; his father worked in Chicago as a stevedore.

Blues is the first music Johnny remembers, although he appreciated all styles, as he still does today. "I've always been interested in music," he reminisces. "My mother says that I was singing when I was four years old. . . .They always had a record player on. My mother loved blues."

Throughout his childhood Johnny's enthusiasm for singing intensified. His favorite performers were Sam Cooke and James Brown, and since he lived only a few blocks from Chicago's venerable Regal Theatre, he'd stake out a seat there every Sunday afternoon to catch the best and hottest in musical entertainment, coupled with a movie matinee. Those touring stage shows that enthralled him at the Regal became an integral part of his musical education.

Laws played trumpet and drums at school, but one Christmas Eve when he was shopping with his mother, the sixteen-year-old convinced her to buy him a guitar. In fact it was just a toy, about the size of a ukulele, but it had real guitar strings, and Johnny realized that this was an instrument that could accentuate and support his singing.

At first he couldn't even tune the guitar and knew no one who could teach him, until finally he met a neighbor in his apartment building who instructed him on the basics. By this time he'd traded in the toy for an acoustic guitar he'd purchased at a pawn shop. It was with this instrument that Johnny played his first gig at age seventeen (escorted by his mother because he was underage). He sang and played blues, backed by his childhood pal Robert Daniels on bongos.

When other teenagers were out spending time with their friends, Laws would stay home, singing and practicing guitar in the hallway of his building. An upstairs neighbor complimented him on his music and offered to introduce Johnny to her good friend Jimmy Reed the next time he came to visit. Laws was skeptical, even when he met the renowned bluesman sitting in her apartment, a bottle by his side. Not until Reed sang for him was Johnny convinced this was the man himself. That day Reed took Laws over to his house and taught him several guitar licks.

Johnny began to meet other musicians as well, including Tall Paul Hankins, who recorded for the Bea and Baby label. For a time his guitar player gave Laws lessons every day. When Hankins asked Johnny to play guitar with his band one night at the Grand Ballroom, the unemployed and broke young man needed a union card fast. Once again his mother bolstered his musical ambitions; she pawned an electric fan and borrowed the rest of the money to pay her son's union dues.

Soon after Johnny joined a band as rhythm guitarist, eventually taking over on lead. As a professional musician, his vocal influences were Jackie Wilson and his childhood idol Sam Cooke; on guitar he was most affected by the mellow jazz stylings of Kenny Burrell. He formed his own group called Phase, which he fronted for over twelve years. During this time he also maintained various day jobs: as a clothing salesman on Maxwell Street; at Embassy, a company that assembled record players; and as a bartender.

Today Johnny Laws maintains an active performing schedule primarily in the Chicago area, although he has played as far afield as Canada and Jamaica. His primary guitar is a 1967 Guild, which he played on this CD. He still performs the same potent mix of blues and soul he's loved throughout his career. "Always, always," says Laws, commenting on his style. "How that came about I don't know. Maybe that's just me."

Sandra B. Tooze

"Guitarist/vocalist Johnny Laws is currently on the road to ‘discovery’ by a larger audience. His smoldering disc, Blues Burnin’ In My Soul, should certainly add some fuel to his growing reputation. Laws is in total command here, with his very smooth vocal abilities hooked up to an appealing guitar style. Inspired by Sam Cooke and Brook Benton, Laws’ smooth singing with a touch of grit brings to mind the late Johnny Adams or perhaps Fenton Robinson. The sometimes jazz-inflected guitar work (an early influence was Kenny Burrell), while mellow on the surface, has a smoldering undercurrent of higher energy . . . It’s always a pleasure to happen upon an artist of this caliber, especially while he’s still alive, performing and recording. Blues fans are in for a solid surprise on this one."

-Tali Madden, Blues Access magazine, Spring 2000

Johnny Laws - Vocals and Guitar
Chris Whiteley - Trumpet, Harmonica, Guitar (on track 10), Pedal-steel guitar
Tyler Yarema - Piano and Organ
John Deeham - Saxaphone
Victor Bateman - Electric and upright bass
Bucky Berger - Drums