John Primer

As the title of his critically acclaimed Atlantic Records CD suggests, Grammy Award Nominee and Handy Award Nominee, John Primer is truly "The Real Deal". At 8 years old, John borrowed his first guitar and started to strum. With the sounds of Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Little Milton, Elmore James, B.B. & Albert King reverberating through his Grandmother Laura Nell's tube radio, John was instantly hooked. He was fascinated with Blues music and set forth on a life long path of becoming a musical force. Early inspiration came from his family steeped in spiritual, gospel, and R&B tradition. As a young boy, John first appeared on stage at the local Baptist church, and went on to play at house parties and fish fry's in and around his hometown of Camden, Mississippi.

At the age of eighteen, feeling restless and in search of further audiences, John followed the path of his mentors and migrated to Chicago in the fall of 1963. He quickly found work in an era when modern electric blues and West and South Side sounds were first taking shape. Forming his first band The Maintainers in 1964, John and his old Harmony guitar rocked such West Side clubs as The Place, The Bow Tie, and Lover's Lounge. By 1968 John had left The Maintainers when the opportunity arose to front the Soul and R&B group The Brotherhood. Jamming late into the night and practicing by day, John was forming his own unique style and expanding his repertoire. John's success would lead him in 1974 to replace John Watkins in the house band at the world famous Theresa's Lounge on the South Side of Chicago. Over the course of the next 5 years, John would play with such originators as Sammy Lawhorn, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Smokey Smothers, Lonnie Brooks, and a host of other innovators sculpting the sound of Chicago Blues.