Search - Artist/Band: Jimmy Witherspoon

• Name: Jimmy Witherspoon
• Birthday: 08/08/1920
• Birth Place: Gurdon, AR
• Died: 09/18/1997
• Decades Active: 1940,1950,1960,1970
• Genre: Blues
• Styles: Urban Blues, Early R&B, Jazz Blues, Jump Blues, Regional Blues, Texas Blues
• Moods: Earthy, Joyous, Sophisticated, Confident, Earnest, Intimate, Rollicking, Gritty, Intense, Passionate, Playful

Title	Release
Urban Blues Singing Legend: 1945-1947 WA	11/28/2006
Urban Blues Singing Legend: 1947-1948 WA	11/28/2006
Urban Blues Singing Legend: 1949-1951 WA	11/28/2006
Urban Blues Singing Legend: 1951-1953 WA	11/28/2006
1950-1951 WA	02/21/2006
Ain't Nobody's Business [Snapper UK]	01/31/2006
Jimmy Witherspoon...Plus	06/27/2005
California Blues	02/28/2005
The Very Best of Jimmy Witherspoon: Miss Miss Mistreater WA	11/09/2004
The Story of the Blues	11/08/2004
The Best of Jimmy Witherspoon [2004]	08/10/2004
The Wind Is Blowin': Spoon's Best	03/22/2004
1948-1949	03/16/2004
Sings the Blues Sessions	07/22/2003
1947-1948 WA	03/25/2003
Goin' Around the Circles	12/04/2002
Spoon Meets Pau	10/08/2002
Ain't Nobody's Business [Culture Press]	05/28/2002
The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions	04/30/2002
Gone With the Blues	04/09/2002
1946-1950: Spoon Sings the Blues	02/05/2002
Les Incontournables	12/07/2001
Sings Blues	10/01/2001
Blue Spoon/Spoon in London	2001
Goin' to Chicago [TIM]	2001
Jimmy Witherspoon [Dressed to Kill]	2001
Same Old Blues	10/17/2000
Legends of the Blues WA	07/11/2000
Nobody's Business	10/13/1998
Jazz Me Blues: The Best of Jimmy Witherspoon WA	05/06/1998
Kansas City	1998
Tougher Than Tough WA	08/19/1997
Classic Hits Unplugged WA	1997
Ain't Nobody's Business [Polydor]	10/01/1996
'Spoon & Groove WA	04/1996
Taste of Swing Time	12/12/1995
Spoon's Blues	08/15/1995
American Blues	1995
Cold Blooded Boogie	1995
Amazing Grace	08/30/1994
Goin' to Kansas City Blues WA	06/28/1993
Hot Licks: Ain't Nobody's Business	03/19/1993
Blowin' in from Kansas City WA	1993
The Blues, the Whole Blues & Nothing But the Blues	1992
As Blue As They Want To Be (City Hall) WA	1991
Call Me Baby WA	1991
Jay's Blues WA	1991
Spoon So Easy: The Chess Years	1990
Rockin' L.A. WA	1988
Midnight Lady Called the Blues WA	01/14/1986
Patcha, Patcha, All Night Long	04/11/1985
Big Blues WA	1981
Spoon's Life	10/1980
Love Is a Five Letter Word	1975
Spoonful	1975
The Best of Jimmy Witherspoon [Prestige]	1969
The Blues Is Now WA	11/1967
Blues for Easy Livers WA	1966
Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues	07/15/1964
Blue Spoon	1964
Blues Around the Clock WA	11/05/1963
Evenin' Blues WA	08/15/1963
Baby Baby Baby	03/06/1963
A Spoonful of Blues	1962
Hey Mrs. Jones WA	1962
Roots WA	1962
Spoon	12/1961
Battle of the Blues, Vol. 3	1959
Feelin' the Spirit	1959
Singin' the Blues WA	1959
Goin' to Chicago [Collecting]

One of the great blues singers of the post-World War II period, Jimmy Witherspoon was also versatile enough to fit comfortably into the jazz world. Witherspoon was born on August 8, 1920, in Gurdon, AR. As a child, he sang in a church choir, and made his debut recordings with Jay McShann for Philo and Mercury in 1945 and 1946. His own first recordings, using McShann's band, resulted in a number one r&b hit in 1949 with "Ain't Nobody's Business, Pts. 1 & 2" on Supreme Records. Live performances of "No Rollin' Blues" and "Big Fine Girl" provided 'Spoon with two more hits in 1950.

The mid-'50s were a lean time, with his style of shouting blues temporarily out of fashion; singles were tried for Federal, Chess, Atco, Vee Jay, and others, with little success. Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival (HiFi Jazz) from 1959 lifted him back into the limelight. Partnerships with Ben Webster or Groove Holmes were recorded, and he toured Europe in 1961 with Buck Clayton, performing overseas many more times in the decades to follow; some memorable music resulted, but Witherspoon's best 1960s album is Evening Blues (Prestige), which features T-Bone Walker on guitar and Clifford Scott on saxophone. As the '70s began, Witherspoon decided to take a short break from live performances, settled in Los Angeles, took a job as a disc jockey, and continued making records. In 1971 Witherspoon teamed up with former Animals vocalist Eric Burdon for the album Guilty. Unfortunately it sold poorly. By 1973 his short retirement from live performances was over. Witherspoon was ready to get back on the road and assembled an amazing band featuring a young Robben Ford on lead guitar. Those live shows had received positive reviews, rejuvenating Witherspoon's move toward a definite rock/soul sound. He traveled to London in 1974 to record Love Is a Five Letter Word with british blues producer Mike Vernon. Vernon had produced critically acclaimed british blues albums by John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, and Ten Years After. By the early '80s, Witherspoon was diagnosed with throat cancer. Although he remained active and was a popular concert attraction, the effect of the disease on his vocals was obvious. Witherspoon passed away on September 18, 1997, at the age of 77. ~ Bob Porter, Scott Yanow & Al Campbell, All Music Guide