J.B. HUTTO

Joseph Benjamin Hutto was born in 1926, in Elko, South Carolina.
He moved to Chicago in 1949, where he eventually met the two players that would influence him to switch from drums to guitar: slide guitar superhero Elmore James and his cousin "Homesick" James Williamson.
J.B. formed the first incarnation of "The Hawks" with drummer Eddie "Porkchop" Hines and harmonica blower George Maywether. Their debut recordings for Chance Records in 1954 set the precedent for everything else J.B. would record later: Loud, loose and raunchy. The Hawks first two releases, "Now She's Gone"/"Combination Boogie" and "Pet Cream Man"/"Lovin' You" are the epitomy of the early 50's Chicago blues sound.
For his second session, J.B. teamed up with piano wizard Johnny Jones (of Elmore James fame). The result was the incredible "Things Are So Slow"/"Dim Lights" single.
By the late 50's, the changing musical climate forced J.B. Hutto to retire from music and take on a job as a mortician.
Producer Samuel Charters would record a new lineup of the Hawks in late '65, and the results were released on Vanguard Records the following year.
J.B. was back on the scene, often sitting in with Hound Dog Taylor's Houserockers, which he would eventually "inherit" and record with after Hound Dog's death.
J.B. recorded two more excellent records for the Delmark label, and continued performing and recording until his death in 1983.


Listen to J.B.Hutto & his Hawks bemoan the evils of consuming "Too Much Alcohol"