Back Alley John
| Back Alley John | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Carl David Wilson |
| Born | February 10, 1955 |
| Origin | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | June 22, 2006 (aged 51) |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Blues singer, songwriter, harmonica player |
| Instruments | Harmonica |
| Years active | 1969–2006 |
| Associated acts | Back Alley John Revue The Blue Lights>Drew Nelson The Twisters |
Back Alley John (born John Carl David Wilson), (February 10, 1955 – June 22, 2006) was a Canadian blues singer, songwriter and harmonica player.
Born into a strict military family in Ottawa, Ontario, the young John Wilson rebelled and ran away from home, travelling to Venice Beach, California at the age of 14 in a stolen truck. He stayed in Venice for approximately two years, making a living as a busking harmonica player, and it was in Venice that he acquired the name "Back Alley John". As his brother, Peter Wilson, recalls, "When he got (to Venice), he needed money and he had been playing harmonica since he was little, so he started busking. The street people there kind of took him under their wing and they said 'Listen John, you can't busk on the street 'cause you'll get arrested. You've gotta busk in the back alleys.' So he busked in the back alleys of Venice for a couple of years and that's how he was named Back Alley John."
Deported back to Canada, Back Alley John continued to develop his harmonica and singing skills in the Ottawa area. In 1980 together with guitarist Drew Nelson and drummer Sandy Smith, also professionally known as "Sandy Bone", the Back Alley John Revue was formed. They initially played in clubs in Ottawa and nearby towns and often busked on the streets of Ottawa during the early 1980s, particularly on Saturday afternoons in Ottawa's Byward Market, playing blues for passersby in front of the historic Chateau Lafayette House tavern, sometimes gathering crowds numbering in the hundreds. Back Alley John's early reputation was enhanced in 1982 when he won the harmonica competition at the Ottawa Bluesfest, where the jury included Kim Wilson and John Hammond. He later performed with Kim Wilson and Hammond at Ottawa's National Arts Centre and joined Albert Collins on stage during a live performance. John identified his influences as including Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Carrie Bell, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, Norm Clark and Dutch Mason.
...
Wikipedia