Joe Weaver, Alberta Adams, Johnny Bassett

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Detroit blues legend Johnnie Bassett, born in Florida in 1935, recalls watching Tampa Red, Big Boy Crudup and others perform at fish fries in his grandmother’s Florida backyard. After his family moved to Detroit in 1944, Johnnie got his professional start playing guitar in the early 1950s with the teenage R&B group "Joe Weaver and The Bluenotes," the house band for the Motor City's Fortune Records label, The Bluenotes, and winner of scores of local talent contests. Soon he was playing back up for visiting artists such as Big Joe Turner and Ruth Brown as well as hometown blues artists John Lee Hooker, Eddie Burns, Washboard Willie, Mr. Bo, and Alberta Adams.

During the early 1960s Bassett appeared on the very first recording of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and, while briefly living in Seattle, periodically jammed with Jimi Handrix, and worked as back up to Tina Turner and Little Willie John. Other memorable credits include gigs with John Lee Hooker, Lowell Fulson, and Dinah Washington. After returning to Detroit in the late '60s, he began working with Michigan Heritage Awardee Little Sonny Willis and eventually formed what would be the first of his many Blues Insurgents. Johnnie has been honored with many Detroit music awards as well as the Detroit Blues Society Lifetime Achievement Award (1994). Today, Johnnie frequently tours the U.S. and Europe and has been recording albums recently with the Dutch Black Magic label.

At the 2003 Great Lakes Folk Festival, Johnnie Bassett is backed up by veteran musicians RJ Spangler (drums), Paul Carey (guitar), Ben Luttermoser (bass), Keith Kaminski (saxophone), and Martin Simmons (piano).

During the 2003 Folk Festival, look to see Johnnie Bassett performing as part of the Detroit Blues Revue with Alberta Adams and Joe Weaver.


http://www.metrotimes.com/metropolis/sonic/artistprofile.asp?id=2855
http://www.mnblues.com/profile/bio-bassett.html
http://www.mnblues.com/review/bassett-th5-00.html
http://www.flash.net/~dbsblues/DBS_history.htm