Tommy Johnson: Canned Heat Blues

Tommy Johnson was a country blues singer and guitarist from Terry, Mississippi. Johnson was born in 1896, and by the twenties, he was an established figure in Mississippi blues. The sixties blues rock band, Canned Heat, took their name from the Johnson song, “Canned Heat Blues.”

Johnson was a dissolute figure who actively cultivated a sinister image through excessive drinking and stories that he had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical mastery. A similar mythology would later be attached to Robert Johnson.

Johnson made his first recordings for the Victor label in 1928 with the sides “Canned Heat Blues” and “Big Road Blues.” Johnson also recorded for Paramount Records in two sessions, one in 1928 and another in the following year. These recordings proved Johnson to be a vocalist of great depth and a fine guitarist. Unfortunately, his recordings for Paramount are of low fidelity.

Johnson’s classic sides can be found on the compilation "Complete Recorded Work in Chronological Order" (1994).

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