After completing a tribute to his humble beginnings in Mississippi, the three-time Grammy® nominated, Blues Hall of Fame artist, JOHN PRIMER decides to pay tribute to the greatest blues club in the world, Theresa’s Lounge, while he and his friends that played down there can still do it. All of these incredible artists got their start down in the basement of Theresa’s Lounge. They were taught how to be professional blues musicians by blues masters. John’s dream of becoming a musician came true at Theresa’s Lounge. It was like home to him and it changed his life forever.
John Primer is from Camden, MS in 1945. He was born on sharecropper land. Growing up working in the fields, searching for a better life, he migrated to Chicago with his mother in 1963. His blues career began on Maxwell St. playing for tips, to then getting his first steady gig at Theresa’s Lounge in the 70’s. John was the band leader for Junior Wells, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, and Magic Slim before leading his own Real Deal Blues Band in 1995. He was taught by the masters and is one of the last real bluesmen in the world. He is the REAL DEAL! “The songs on John Primer and Friends’ Tribute to Theresa’s Lounge have a lot of meaning to me. These songs remind me of Theresa’s Lounge. You would hear my teachers singing them. ”Up in Heah“, is a song that Junior Wells would sing to kick off his set, I wrote “7 Nights for 7 Years” especially for this tribute. It’s about how hard I worked and paid my dues at Theresa‘s. I wrote “The Blues is King”, which tells how important it is to keep the true blues traditions intact and alive. Billy Branch sang “Sugar Sweet“, a Muddy Waters song. He was a huge influence on all of us, along with Willie Buck’s version of “Champagne and Reefer” and Carlos Johnson’s “She’s Nineteen Years Old”.
I wrote “We all Need Help”, in the memory of Theresa Needham. She was always giving to people in need. She taught me so much about how important it is to give to those that are in need. The song “Little by Little” is one of my favorite Junior Wells songs. Mary Lane was the only regular woman singer at Theresa’s. I had to include her song, “Mary’s Song” on this album. James Cotton sang John Watkins song, “Here I am Knockin’ at Your Door Again” at Theresa‘s so I asked John to sing it for us. I took John Watkins place after he quit Junior’s house band. The last song was sung every night by Sammy Lawhorn at Theresa’s, “Mean Old World” is a tribute to him. These songs and these musicians mean a lot to me.
We all got our start together at Theresa’s Lounge. We are all in our seventies, eighties and nineties now. I am so happy we were all healthy enough to make this tribute to Theresa’s Lounge together. I am happy to be able to pay tribute to Theresa. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do.” – John Primer
