John Primer

Tribute to Theresa's Lounge

After completing a tribute to his humble beginnings in Mississippi, the three-time Grammy nominated, Blues Hall of Fame artist, John Primer decides to pay tribute to the greatest blues club in the world, Theresa's Lounge, while he and his friends that played down there can still do it.

All of these incredible artists got their start down in the basement of Theresa's Lounge. They were taught how to be professional blues musicians by blues masters. John's dream of becoming a musician came true at Theresa's Lounge. It was like home to him and it changed his life forever. Theresa provided a safe place for these musicians. She gave them a place to connect and the freedom to play together. All the greatest blues musicians played there: Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Hubert Sumlin, Earl Hooker, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Hound Dog Taylor, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Winter, Eddie Taylor, Luther Tucker, Otis Rush, Magic Slim. Musicians came to Theresa's Lounge from all over the world to learn more about the blues.

The songs on John Primer and Friends Tribute to Theresa's Lounge have a lot of meaning to me. These songs remind me of Theresa's Lounge. You would hear my teachers singing them. Up in Hear is a song that Junior Wells would sing to kick off his set, I wrote 7 Nights for 7 Years especially for this tribute. It's about how hard I worked and paid my dues at Theresa's. I wrote The Blues is King, which tells how important it is to keep the true blues traditions intact and alive. Billy Branch sang Sugar Sweet, a Muddy Waters song. He was a huge influence on all of us, along with Willie Dixon's version of Champagne and Reefer and Carlos Johnson's She's Nineteen Years Old. I wrote We all Need Help, in the memory of Theresa Needham. She was always giving to people in need. She taught me so much about how important it is to give to those that are in need. The song Little by Little is one of my favorite Junior Wells songs. Mary Lane was the only regular woman singer at Theresa's Lounge. I had to include her song, Mary's Song on this album. James Cotton sang John Watkins' song, Here I am Knockin at Your Door Again at Theresa's so I asked John to sing it for us. I took John Watkins' place after he quit Junior's house band. The last song was sung every night by Sammy Lawhorn at Theresa's, Mean Old World is a tribute to him.

These songs and these musicians mean a lot to me. We all got our start together at Theresa's Lounge. We are all in our seventies, eighties and nineties now. I am so happy we were all healthy enough to make this tribute to Theresa's Lounge together. I am happy to be able to pay tribute to Theresa. I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do. - John Primer