While recently listening to both some Mississippi Fred McDowell and R.L. Burnside recordings, I noticed one common thread; Johnny Woods was contributing inspiring, powerful harmonica and vocals to the work of both these artists.  Roused as I was at hearing Woods’ formidable talents, and the fact that I have one of his harmonicas framed and displayed in my downstairs blues room, it seems like it is the right time to present a brief overview of Woods’ life and career.

Born on the first day in November, 1917 in Looxahoma, Mississippi, a town in Tate County, an area in the state’s northeastern section and nearby state road 35, Woods entered the world in a blues rich region.  Without sounding apologetic here, over and over I have commented that despite how extraordinarily talented many of the blues artists I have written about are and were, oftentimes scant few details are available about their earliest formative years, as again is the case with Woods.  It is extremely dismaying when as prodigiously gifted a blues musician as Woods unfortunately remains largely a personal mystery due to the meager existing information surrounding their lives. 

What is known is that Woods was self-taught on the harmonica, taking the highly rhythmic cadences he heard by way of the field hollers in the farm grounds his family worked, absorbing and configuring them to suit his musical wishes.  And akin to his eventual musical partner the aforementioned McDowell, he was also greatly influenced by the metrical tempos of the North Mississippi Hill County fife and drum outfits that played all the social events of the territory.

Like countless other blues performers, Woods and his broad talent were not encountered until he was well into his fifties.  Now, there is a necessary parallel that must be drawn here in that a man that Woods would go on to prolifically record and perform with suffered, if you will, the same long route to awareness in the blues field; again, the previously recognized McDowell.

In fact, it was a joint project between Woods and McDowell for the noted blues historian and record producer George Mitchell, a man whose labors in documenting and chronicling country blues remains immensely contributory, were the initial recordings that Woods made.  And despite being a frequent musical associate of McDowell’s, an eight-year period of absence between the two existed before these early Woods recordings with McDowell.

Due to the exposure offered via the Mitchell recordings, Woods and McDowell were further chronicled by Chris Strachwitz and his Arhoolie Records label on various compilations.  More recordings were to follow for the pair and their magnificent blend of Mississippi blues, including one for the Revival label.  Woods did record a two-sided record for the Oblivion Records label in 1972 as a solo artist.

After McDowell passed in 1973, Woods melted back into the sharecropping way of life he had always known, until Mitchell once again conjoined him with yet another of his amazing country blues artist findings; R.L. Burnside.  Interestingly, Burnside cites McDowell as one of his primary influences.

Together, Woods and Burnside found a synthesis quite similar to what Woods enjoyed with McDowell, and the two appeared together on a Swingmaster label LP entitled Going Down South along with Ranie Burnette.

YouTube has many videos available of Johnny Woods and R.L. Burnside performing, and one of Woods and his wife Verlina sitting on their front porch, Woods playing the harmonica and Verlina singing, is not to be missed.

Woods’ harmonica style, again, one based upon the droning field hollers of his youth and the fife and drum beats that surrounded his life in North Mississippi, is one that this blogger believes is best enjoyed in a solo format.  Not that his work with both McDowell and Burnside are in any way inferior, but the drive and nuances of sounds he brought with his unaccompanied blues seem to stand out.

Woods passed away on the first day of February, 1990 at the age of 72 in Olive Branch, Mississippi.  Like so many of the blues artists written about on these pages, though he is not a household name familiar to the majority of blues fans, Woods’ blues attributes were many and of first-rate quality.

Below are some places to start to hear the phenomenal work of Johnny Woods.

Recordings And Appearances

Various Artists – Mississippi Delta Blues Vol. 1 – Arhoolie 1041

Various Artists – Mississippi Delta Blues Jam In Memphis Volume 1 – Arhoolie 385

Various Artists – Mississippi Delta Blues: “Blow My Blues Away” Volume 1 – Arhoolie 401

Various Artists – Shake ‘Em On Down: The Real Country Blues – Ace CDCHD 527

Johnny Woods – So Many Cold Mornings – Swingmaster 2112

Fred McDowell And Johnny Woods – Eight Years Ramblin’ – Revival R.V.S. 1001  

Johnny Woods – Mississippi Harmonica – “Long Haired Doney” / “Three O’Clock In The Morning”

R.L. Burnside/Ranie Burnette/Johnny Woods – Going Down South – Swingmaster 2203