Johnny Iguana

Last updated
Johnny Iguana
Birth nameBrian Berkowitz
Born New Jersey, U.S.
Genres Chicago blues, rock
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)Piano, keyboards, vocals
Years active1990s–present
Labels Delmark Records

Brian Berkowitz, known professionally as Johnny Iguana, is an American Chicago blues pianist, singer and songwriter. He has recorded albums with Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Koko Taylor, Lil' Ed Williams, Eddie Shaw, Matthew Skoller, Lurrie Bell, Carey Bell, Oh My God, and the Claudettes among many others. [1] [2]

Contents

His own debut as a blues bandleader, Chicago Spectacular!, was issued in August 2020 on Delmark Records. [1] [3]

Biography

He was born in New Jersey, United States. When he was eight years old, the family relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he spent the remainder of his childhood. He took piano lessons along with his mother with the same teacher, although as time progressed his mother's interest petered out. [4] Berkowitz was a willing student until, by the age of 16, his ability was sufficient to play both piano and synthesizer in two local blues and new wave bands. [2] His interest had been heightened a year earlier, when his uncle gave him copies of both Junior Wells, Hoodoo Man Blues , and Jimmy Smith's, Organ Grinder Swing , to listen to. [1] [4] In his late teens, Berkowitz played many times in bars in Philadelphia, often utilising Wells material. [5] By the age of 22, college attendance necessitated a move to New York City, where he balanced education with a job writing book back covers, coupled with more practice in playing his organ. At the age of 23 and, through a contact met at a blues jam session in a mid-town Manhattan bar, Berkowitz introduced himself to his hero Junior Wells. [1] [4] After a live audition at the Harvard Square-based Boston's House of Blues, Wells offered Berkowitz a job as his piano player and, in February 1994, Berkowitz relocated to Chicago, Illinois. [2] He toured with Wells for three years, [5] and Johnny Iguana, as he was now billed, performed on two live albums; the 1997 Grammy-nominated Junior Wells: Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, [6] plus the 2002 release, The Best of Junior Wells: Live Around the World. [7]

Following his departure from Wells band, Johnny Iguana formed a trio, Stevie Lizard & His All Reptile Orchestra. [4] He became a founding member of Oh My God, a cult rock outfit which formed in 1999, and almost lasted a decade, releasing six albums. [8] A couple of short lived bands kept Johnny Iguana in work. [2] During this timespan, he also undertook an East Coast tour backing Otis Rush, which included performing at a festival in New Jersey, along with Carey Bell, Jimmie Vaughan, and Little Milton. [4]

In late 2010, Johnny Iguana formed the Claudettes, a "piano boogie, punk blues, and cabaret" rock and roll outfit, who have had an ever changing line-up, although they have released four albums. [2] [4] [3] Their latest collection, High Times in the Dark, was recorded and issued in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. All the tracks were written by Johnny Iguana, and the album was produced by Ted Hutt. [1] [4] During the same decade, Johnny Iguana played piano for the Chicago Blues: A Living History ensemble, whose other members included Billy Boy Arnold, Billy Branch, Carlos Johnson, John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, and Billy Flynn; with occasional guest appearances by Buddy Guy, James Cotton, and Magic Slim. [1] In 2018, Johnny Iguana played on the Chicago Plays the Stones album. [2]

In 2020, Johnny Iguana assembled a number of Chicago blues veterans to assist in his recording of his debut solo album. He wrote four of the eventual track list and reinterpreted eight other songs, mostly written in the heyday of blues. AllMusic noted he "finds a sweet spot between jumping piano R&B and gutbucket blues, placing the rhythm in the forefront and keeping things lively and swinging throughout." [3] Chicago Spectacular! featured Lil' Ed Williams, John Primer, Billy Boy Arnold, Bob Margolin, Matthew Skoller, Billy Flynn, Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, Bill Dickens and Michael Caskey. [2] B.B. King's nephew, Phillip-Michael Scales, supplied the vocals on the Gil Scott-Heron-penned track. [9] Realising that any subsequent tour would mean many of those who appeared on the album would be engaged elsewhere, it led to the invitation given to Scales to ensure some touring continuity. [4]

Johnny Iguana commented on his career so far by stating "In the past, playing the main stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2012 with Chicago Blues: A Living History was a highlight (the whole bill was Bob Dylan, then us). Playing at the Taste of Chicago to 500,000 people with Junior Wells was memorable, too." [1]

In the 2021 Blues Music Awards, he had an nomination in the 'Instrumentalist - Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player)' category, [10] and the 'virtual' ceremony took place on June 6, 2021. [11]

Discography

Solo albums

Chicago Spectacular!
Studio album by
Johhny Iguana
ReleasedAugust 2020
Genre Chicago blues
Length38:44
Label Delmark Records
Producer Larry Skoller

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."44 Blues" Roosevelt Sykes 3:33
2."Hammer and Tickle"Brian Berkowitz2:58
3."Down in the Bottom" Willie Dixon 2:37
4."You're an Old Lady" Sonny Boy Williamson II 3:37
5."Land of Precisely Three Dances"Brian Berkowitz2:50
6."Lady Day and John Coltrane" Gil Scott-Heron 4:00
7."Big Easy Women"Brian Berkowitz2:07
8."Burning Fire" Otis Spann 4:33
9."Shake Your Moneymaker" Elmore James 2:40
10."Motorhome"Brian Berkowitz2:52
11."Stop Breakin' Down" Robert Johnson 3:38
12."Hot Dog Mama" Big Bill Broonzy 3:19

[3] [12]

Selected other recent releases

For other output, see Oh My God

YearTitleArtistRecord label
2015The Blues is Alright! (live compilation) Junior Wells RockBeat Records
2015SauvignonNick ShaheenSelf released
2015No Hotel The Claudettes Yellow Dog Records
2015Muddy Waters 100 John Primer Raisin' Music
2016Blues Immigrant Matthew Skoller Tongue 'N Groove Records
2017Austin Texas the Rock OperaFranky and the BandRound Rock Records
2018Dance Scandal at the GymnasiumThe ClaudettesYellow Dog Records
2020High Times in the DarkThe ClaudettesForty Below Records

[13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carey Bell</span> American blues musician

Carey Bell Harrington was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s before embarking on a solo career. Besides his own albums, he recorded as an accompanist or duo artist with Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Lowell Fulson, Eddie Taylor, Louisiana Red and Jimmy Dawkins and was a frequent partner with his son, the guitarist Lurrie Bell. Blues Revue called Bell "one of Chicago's finest harpists." The Chicago Tribune said Bell was "a terrific talent in the tradition of Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter." In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Dawkins</span> American blues musician

James Henry “Jimmy” Dawkins was an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered to have been a practitioner of the "West Side sound" of Chicago blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. B. Hutto</span> American blues musician

Joseph Benjamin Hutto was an American blues musician. Elmore James influenced him and became known for his slide guitar playing and declamatory style of singing. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame two years after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lurrie Bell</span> American blues guitarist and singer

Lurrie Bell is an American blues guitarist and singer. His father was renowned blues harmonica player Carey Bell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Branch</span> American Chicago blues musician

Billy Branch is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues. Branch is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner, and a winner of the Addy Award. In addition, he has received numerous humanitarian and music awards.

Mississippi Heat is an American blues band based in Chicago, led by harmonica player Pierre Lacocque. Formed in 1991, the band has toured in the United States, Canada, and Europe, with occasional performances in South America and North Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafayette Leake</span> American musician

Lafayette Leake was an American blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie C. Campbell</span> American blues guitarist and singer

Eddie C. Campbell was an American blues guitarist and singer in the Chicago blues scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Saydak</span> American pianist and singer-songwriter

Ken Saydak is an American Chicago blues pianist and singer-songwriter. In a long career, he has played as a sideman with Lonnie Brooks, Mighty Joe Young, Johnny Winter and Dave Specter. Saydak has released three albums under his own name since 1999. Billboard once described him as "a gripping frontman".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You've Got to Love Her with a Feeling</span> Early blues standard written by Tampa Red

"You've Got to Love Her with a Feeling", or "Love with a Feeling" as it was originally titled, is a blues song first recorded by Tampa Red in 1938. Numerous blues artists have interpreted and recorded the song, making it a blues standard. When Freddie King adapted it in 1961, it became his first single to appear in the record charts.

Karen Lynn Carroll was an American singer. She was born to Mack Carroll and Alberta Simmons Carroll.

Aron Burton was an American electric and Chicago blues singer, bass guitarist and songwriter. In a long career as a sideman he played with Freddie King, Albert Collins and Junior Wells and released a number of solo albums, including Good Blues to You. His recorded work was nominated four times for a Blues Music Award in the category Blues Instrumentalist—Bass.

Bob Stroger is an American electric blues bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has worked with many blues musicians, including Eddie King, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Sunnyland Slim, Louisiana Red, Buster Benton, Homesick James, Mississippi Heat, Snooky Pryor, Odie Payne, Fred Below, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Billy Davenport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockin' Johnny Burgin</span> American blues guitarist

Johnny Burgin is an American blues guitarist and harmonica player. Since 1997, he has released ten recordings under his own name and has played on numerous other recordings as a sideman.

<i>Heartaches and Pain</i> 1994 studio album by Carey Bell

Heartaches and Pain is an album by the American blues musician Carey Bell, recorded in Chicago in 1977, but not released by the Delmark label until 1994.

<i>Good Luck Man</i> 1997 studio album by Carey Bell

Good Luck Man is an album by the American blues musician Carey Bell, recorded in Chicago in 1997 and released by the Alligator label.

Matthew Skoller is an American Chicago blues harmonicist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has released five albums, as well as recording his harmonica playing on other musicians work, including John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Koko Taylor, H-Bomb Ferguson, Toronzo Cannon, Bernard Allison, Larry Garner, Big Daddy Kinsey, Big Time Sarah, Michael Coleman, and Harvey Mandel. On stage, he has supplied part of the backing to Big Time Sarah, Jimmy Rogers, and Deitra Farr.

The Claudettes is an American blues, rock and pop group, which formed in 2010. They are led by Johnny Iguana, and although the combo has had a changing line-up since its inception, they have released four albums to date.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Limnios, Michael. "Chicago-based pianist Johnny Iguana talks about Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Delmark Records, Van Morrison, Jeff Healey and the Claudettes". Blues.gr. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bio | Johnny Iguana". Johnnyiguana.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Chicago Spectacular! - Johnny Iguana | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thompson, Mark (31 October 2020). "Featured Interview – Johnny Iguana". Bluesblastmagazine.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Johnny Iguana - Johnny Iguana's Chicago Spectacular". Americanbluesscene.com. August 25, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Junior Wells – Live At Buddy Guy's Legends (1997, 20-Bit Digital, CD)". Discogs.com. 1997. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Junior Wells – Live Around The World: The Best Of (2002, Live Recording, CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Oh My God | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Versatile Pianist Johnny Iguana (The Claudettes) Invites Blues Royalty For Delmark's 'Johnny Iguana's Chicago Spectacular' (Album Review)". Glidemagazine.com. 19 August 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ McKay, Robin. "BLUES MUSIC AWARDS". Blues.org. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  11. ↑ McKay, Robin. "BLUES MUSIC AWARDS". Blues.org. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Cover versions by Johnny Iguana | SecondHandSongs". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Johnny Iguana | Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved April 9, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.