Sometimes I just have to delve into the classic post-war Chicago blues sound.  Nothing else will suffice during those moments.  I’m not seeking some big production with horns and backing vocalists.  I am wanting to hear solid, tough blues sang with conviction and feeling with a backing group consisting of one or two hard-hitting guitars, a howling harmonica, and a drummer who holds it all together without unnecessary flourishes.  It’s that “get down to business” type of Chicago blues that will solely serve my interests best in those situations.

So, it was a night or two ago when I pulled out from my collection a 1972 two-LP collection on the Boogie Disease Records label, a release entitled Take A Little Walk With Me – The Blues In Chicago 1948-1957.  If you’re not aware of this assemblage, it is a primer on post-war Chicago blues that includes stellar works by the likes of Johnny Young, Floyd Jones, Little Wille Foster, Johnny Shines, J.B. Hutto, Eddie Taylor, John Brim, and Robert Nighthawk, among other Chicago blues titans.  Across the expanse of this 32-cut Chicago blues textbook of sorts, I had found the soundtrack for a long evening spent in my blues room.

It’s funny, but no matter how often I return to a familiar blues recording, inevitably I discern something new, or pay extra attention to a particular recording that almost renders the experience entirely fresh.  Such as It was on this specific occasion when John Lee Henley’s “Knockin’ On Lula Mae’s Door” grabbed me by the collar and forced me to stop whatever I was doing (probably filing away some CDs) and pay close attention to the song.  In it, Henley insistently and laconically drives forward with his story of love lost, blowing economical harmonica, all the while the formidable guitar tandem of Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Johnny Holloway intertwine with swagger, while Moody Jones lays down an ideal bass framework, and Allan Williams provides an unbendable percussion context.  In other words, this was the Chicago blues sound I had been seeking that evening.

It occurred to me that I have not before provided a brief overview of the life and career of John Lee Henley, so this profile seeks to fill that void.

Henley came into the world in mid-to-late February, 1919 in Canton, Mississippi, a town in Madison County, a locale in the central portion of the state.  Here I go sounding like a needle stuck on a record, but as with so many blues artists profiled here who never achieved any measurable success as a star, very little is known about Henley’s early formative years.  What is acknowledged is that Henley’s father was a farmer, and his grandfather was a minister. 

What is universally recognized is that at a relatively young age Henley became interested in the harmonica, and that he worked to perfect his skill set to the point where he could earn some money playing for the country events in his area such as the frolics, picnics, and dances.  It is said that Henley joined forces with Buddy Cobbs, a local musician, to make music at these events, though Cobbs is inferred not the be the only musician Henley teamed with early on. 

Henley stayed in the U.S. South until the age of 24 when he made the move northward to Chicago.  Research suggests that he made this move not to work in music, but rather to find meaningful and better paying employment that was more readily available in the city. 

As Chicago was certainly a hotbed of blues at the time of his arrival, Henley was highly intrigued by the sheer breadth of blues talent Chicago housed, and in particular, that of John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson.  Williamson was kind enough to work with Henley on his blues harmonica techniques, laying the foundation for Henley’s renewed interest in his blues career.

Henley did find employment in Chicago, and never considered himself a professional blues artist, although his harmonica competencies and assertive vocals prove that he was a bluesman of noteworthy capacity.  Henley continued to work his day job while also working on his musical skills.

Henley attended blues shows in Chicago’s clubs, and when he was invited to, would sit-in with the featured act.  This became the pattern for Henley, and it is a familiar pattern in the blues, one that hopefully gets an aspiring blues artist some notoriety.

In 1953, his musical skills sufficiently enhanced, Henely joined the band of Arthur “Big Boy” Spires and was able to gain some recognition via recording with Spires on his 1953 Chance Records output.  Due to this visibility, Henley was able to sit-in with Muddy Waters and his band at the height of Waters’ mid-1950s powers.  Henley continued to play wherever and whenever he could deep into the 1950s while still working his day job.

Finally, in 1952, Henley’s work within the Chicago blues arena paid-off.  The independent Chicago-based J.O.B Records label, owned by businessman Joe Brown and bluesman St. Louis Jimmy Oden, recorded what would be the only two songs ever released under Henley’s name; “Rythm Rockin’ Boogie” [sic] and the aforementioned “Knockin’ On Lula Mae’s Door,” both in 1953.  Henley was finally recognized as a bluesman of standing as a result of these releases.

A point: Some research into Henley’s two J.O.B. label recordings suggests that the work was released in 1958.  This writer does not agree with that year after researching the release numbering system the J.O.B. Records used; it supports the 1953 release date.

Continuing to work outside of music, Henley went on to record for the Testament Records label in the mid-1960s period (1964, ’65, and ’66) both under his name and backing David “Honeyboy” Edwards (providing strong harmonica work); a total of 18 cuts.  Unfortunately, those sides remained originally unissued until seeing the light of day many years later; all appeared posthumously.  Some indications swirl that Henley also recorded with string band legend Ted Bogan, but this writer could not find evidence of such.

During this period of recording, Henley was still active in the Chicago club scene, though research indicates that his final known performance was at the famed north side Fickle Pickle venue in 1964 where he played with fellow bluesman Big Joe Williams. 

The remaining years of John Lee Henley’s life are something of a mystery, and he passed away in Chicago in early March, 1995.

Yet again, Henley represents the known fact of just how deep blues talent in Chicago was during its most fertile post-war period.  Henley was a very talented bluesman, and yes, although he did not desire to be a full-time musician, his work only enhances the point that the city absolutely teemed with men and women of weighty blues competencies who toiled on the edges of the genre.

Henley’s work can now be found on numerous CD compilations and on YouTube.  If you are not aware of it, you would only be enriching your blues awareness by considering his superb efforts.