J. B. Lenoir (March 5, 1929 – April 29, 1967) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the Chicago blues scene in the 1950s and 1960s.
Lenoir was born in Monticello, Mississippi. His full given name was simply "J. B."; the letters were not initials. Lenoir's guitar-playing father introduced him to the music of Blind Lemon Jefferson, which became a major influence. Lenoir began travelling to play music in his teens. He lived in Gulfport and worked at the Splendid Cafe there at one point in the 1940s, and later worked with the blues artists Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James in New Orleans. He was later influenced by Arthur Crudup and Lightnin' Hopkins. Lenoir had one of the most beautiful voices in postwar blues, and on his recordings his musicians gave him sparse, skeletal accompaniment, which framed his vocals perfectly. He was certainly one of the most original sounding of the blues singers.
In 1949, he moved to Chicago, where Big Bill Broonzy helped introduce him to the blues community. He began to perform at local nightclubs, with musicians such as Memphis Minnie, Big Maceo Merriweather, and Muddy Waters, and became an important part of the city's blues scene. He began recording in 1951 for J.O.B. Records and Chess Records. His recording of "Korea Blues" was licensed to and released by Chess, as having been performed by J. B. and his Bayou Boys. His band included the pianist Sunnyland Slim, the guitarist Leroy Foster, and the drummer Alfred Wallace. His more successful songs included "Let's Roll,""The Mojo" (featuring saxophonist J. T. Brown) and the controversial "Eisenhower Blues," which Parrot Records forced him to re-record as "Tax Paying Blues."
Lenoir was known in the 1950s for his showmanship, particularly his zebra-patterned costumes, and his high-pitched vocals. He became an influential electric guitarist and songwriter, and his penchant for social commentary distinguished him from many other bluesmen of the time. Lenoir recorded his most enduring number, "Mama Talk to Your Daughter," in 1954 for the Parrot label.
He was quite prolific between ’54 and ’58 for both the Parrot and Chess labels. Lenoir's recordings are also distinctive for their excellent saxophone arrangements and unconventional drumming (Alex Atkins and Ernest Cotton were often on sax with Al Gavin on drums). Other blues standards include “Don't Dog Your Woman" and "Don't Touch My Head!!!" (1956).
In 1963, he recorded for USA Records as J. B. Lenoir and his African Hunch Rhythm, having developed an interest in African percussion. He was rediscovered by Willie Dixon, who recorded him playing acoustic guitar, with the drummer Fred Below, on the albums Alabama Blues and Down in Mississippi (inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and Free Speech Movement).These albums are quite astonishing given the social turmoil of the period as racism, Civil Rights, poverty, and the war. Lenoir seemed to vocalize the intense situations. No blues singer had ever or since covered such poignant themes. Lenoir toured Europe and performed in 1965 with the American Folk Blues Festival in the United Kingdom. Lenoir's work had overtly political content relating to racism and the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Lenoir was likely about to achieve greater fame when he died on April 29, 1967, in Urbana, Illinois, at the age 38, of injuries he had suffered in a car crash three weeks earlier. John Mayall paid tribute to the fallen bluesman with the songs "I'm Gonna Fight for You, J. B." and "The Death of J. B. Lenoir," though in both songs, Mayall mispronounces Lenoir's name.
The 2003 documentary film The Soul of a Man, directed by Wim Wenders as the second installment of Martin Scorsese's series The Blues, explored Lenoir's career, together with those of Skip James and Blind Willie Johnson. In 2011, Lenoir was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
(Edited from Wikipedia & All About Jazz)