Long John Hunter born 13 July 1931

John Thurman Hunter Jr. (July 13, 1931 – January 4, 2016), known by the stage name Long John Hunter, was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He released seven albums in his own name, and in his later years found critical acknowledgement outside of his homeland. Hunter's best known tracks are "El Paso Rock" and "Alligators Around My Door", the latter of which Hunter co-wrote with Bruce Iglauer. 

For much too long, the legend of Long John Hunter was largely a local one, limited to the border town region between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. That's where the guitarist reigned for 13 years (beginning in 1957) at Juarez's infamous Lobby Bar. 

Hunter was born in Ringgold, Louisiana. He was raised on a farm in Magnolia, Arkansas. When he was 22 and toiling away in a Beaumont, Texas box factory, he attended a B.B. King show and was instantly transfixed. The next day, he bought a guitar. He practiced and performed relentlessly in Beaumont, then the Houston and Port Arthur areas before deciding to move to El Paso where he adopted the stage name Long John Hunter. He was soon starring at the Raven, the same bar that B.B. had headlined. 

Hunter's 1954 debut single for Don Robey's Houston-based Duke label, "She Used to Be My Woman"/"Crazy Baby," preceded his move to El Paso in 1957. He found employment playing at the Lobby Club in Juárez, Mexico and remained there for over thirteen years until the bar closed. Its riotous, often brawling clientele included locals, cowboys, soldiers from nearby Fort Bliss, frat boys, and every sort of troublemaking tourist in between. Hunter kept 'em all entertained with his outrageous showmanship and slashing guitar riffs. 

Many legends surround Hunter's Lobby Bar performances. James Brown supposedly jumped onstage during a break — and was shouted down by Hunter's fans, according to an El Paso Times story. A then-unknown Buddy Holly is said to have choked up the courage to talk to Hunter after a gig. El Paso's best-known rocker, Bobby Fuller of "I Fought the Law" fame, used to cross the bridge to see Hunter play. Yet Hunter’s recording output was slim with a few hot but obscure singles waxed from 1961 to 1963 for the tiny Yucca logo out of Alamogordo, New Mexico (standouts include "El Paso Rock,""Midnight Stroll," and "Border Town Blues"). These sides were later released as Texas Border Town Blues on the Dutch Double Trouble label in 1986.

Although all of these recordings were well received locally, Hunter's reputation never spread (due in no small part to his desire to stay in Jaurez, where he was treated like royalty and even had his own body guards and expense account). Fortunately, Hunter's reputation eventually outgrew the Lone Star State. His album Texas Border Town Blues was released in 1988 but Ride with Me in 1992 got the ball rolling. 

A pair of albums released later in the decade for Alligator, Border Town Legend (1996) and Swinging from the Rafters (1997), exposed the Texas blues great to a wider (if not wilder) audience than before. In 1999, Hunter teamed up with Lonnie Brooks and Phillip Walker to release Lone Star Shootout. Those albums brought him new followers in the United States and Europe. 

Hunter went from the Lone Star state's best-kept secret to the international blues world's most wanted list. His made-for-dancing Texas shuffles, fueled by searing single-note solos and melodic, drawling vocals have made Long John Hunter a favorite at clubs, concert stages and festivals all around the world. The Los Angeles Times called him "one of the blues' best kept secrets...a top notch singer, guitarist and unbridled wildman performer. Hunter is a raw, feral talent bursting with energy." 

In 2013, Hunter performed at the New York's legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Hunter was one of the most in-demand blues performers on the club and festival circuit. With Ride With Me, Swinging From The Rafters, Border Town Legend Long John Hunter extended an open invitation to climb aboard his supercharged blues train as it made its way from West Texas to destinations all over the world. He played right up to his death at his home in Phoenix, Arizona on January 4, 2016. He was 84 years old. 

 (Edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic, Alligator.com & El Passo Times)