Jimmy Burns (guitarist)

Biography

James Olin Burns, 27 February 1943, Dublin, Mississippi, USA. This blues guitarist and singer is one of the most acclaimed artists on the current Chicago scene. The youngest of 11 children, Burns was raised on the Hilliard Cotton Plantation in Mississippi. His oldest brother was guitar player Eddie Burns who, by the late 40s, had already made his name as a backing musician with John Lee Hooker. Jimmy learnt to play six-string and one-string guitar as a child, but made his recording debut in 1959 as part of five-piece R&B vocal group the Medallionaires. Relocating to Chicago Burns recorded a few R&B singles before settling down with his family and concentrating on his job running a barbecue stand. In the 90s he began performing regularly again, holding down an evening residency at Smokedaddy’s restaurant and establishing a reputation as one of the city’s leading bluesmen. He was spotted at Smokedaddy’s by Bob Koester of Delmark Records and a...

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