He began playing professionally while still in high school with such stars as ZZ Hill, Little Johnny Taylor, Joe Tex and the Sweet Inspirations and now he’s coming to St. Louis starting tonight.
St. Louis blues fans will get a taste of the best in Mississippi Delta Blues as Johnny Rawls brings his decades of experience as a singer, songwriter, producer and bandleader to the Backstreet Jazz and Blues Club.
Recording under Touch Records, Rooster Blues, Rock House, Reach and JSP Records, Johnny has done it all from producing, song writing, horn arranging, rhythm, lead and bass guitar, keyboard, vocals, and background vocals. Johnny started his own record company, Deep South Soul, in 2002 and has released his CD’s Lucky Man, Live in Montana, and The Best of Johnny Rawls. His newest CD entitled Heart and Soul was released in October 2006 and has been nominated for “Best Soul Blues Album of the Year (2007)” by the Blues Foundation. No Boundaries was released under the TopCat, Catfood and Deep South Soul labels in 2005.
Johnny has appeared on the cover of the April 2002 Living Blues Magazine and has been nominated four times for the W.C. Handy Award. His most recent award came from the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame for RB Male Vocalist of the Year 2006.
Johnny has performed at the Chicago Blues Festival twice, The Russian River Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival, The Portland Waterfront Blues Festival, Poconos, as well as festivals in Sweden and Poland. He tours constantly, playing well over 200 dates a year. He can also be heard on XM radio’s Bluesville.
But St. Louis will get a chance to see and hear Johnny Rawls live and in the flesh this weekend at the Backstreet Jazz and Blues Club (614 Westport Plaza) tonight and tomorrow. For more information visit www.backstreetclub.com or call (314) 878-5800.
For more information about Johnny Rawls, visit www.johnnyrawls.com.
