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So why the constant struggle for recognition? "Nobody seems to want to put me at the right place at the right time," the artist told me. "They just leave me hangin'. So you know I have to try to bang around and do my own stuff and try to get out here so people can hear me, 'cause really I haven't been where people could see what I had for them." And so does Mr. Johnson proceed from gig-to-gig along his blues path, certain of his talents and abilities, yet humble to a fault. Through it all the artist emerges as both gentleman and musician's musician -- a deeply religious and respectful man. "Ain't no sense in runnin' . . . you can't run from Him," Jack remarks, ". . . and you can't hide."

Blues was not his only musical influence, however. "I listened to country and western and blues, and I like to mix it up now, cause that's what I heard," recalls the bluesman. I listened to the Grand Ole Opry with DeFord Bailey, Grandpa Jones, Red Foley -- all those guys . . . and Hank Williams, who I heard live in Memphis when I was really young."

"But B.B. King was my idol," Jack says, "and Albert too." I would see him at the Masonic Hall in Clarksdale -- Robert Nighthawk, Sonny Boy Williamson -- I played with all those guys. Robert with all that slide stuff and Sonny Boy would just eat that harp up, man."

Many of Mr. Johnson's lyrics outline contemporary situations plaguing American society. "We Got To Stop This Killin'" is a fine example: "New babies being born with a gun in their hand . . . the whole damn nation gonna be wiped plumb out," he sings. This is tough blues for a tough generation. "Big cities, more people, more violence," the artist observed recently. Musically, Jack's two solos on this track demonstrate his absolute command over the blues idiom. In "Breakdown Blues," on the other hand, Jack shows his affinity for country music. One chorus cascades after another in a unique and powerful blend of country, blues, and rock. Jack leads with his rhythmic guitar style -- another salient side of his work. "Humming Blues," a nostalgic blend of "When Things Go Wrong" and "Sitting On Top Of The World," features Jack's humming and "ah'hahing" -- the sweet sounds of lost love. "I got the blues because of you," Jack croons. The slide work here demonstrates the artist's prowess in this area as well. Sometimes it's difficult to tell whether or not he is actually using a slider as the effects he achieves with his fingers are equally impressive. Sometimes he will use a mike-stand or beer can as slider . . . or sometimes his huge naked hand. The means are secondary, however, the end is the consummate expression of his lyricism.

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