Johnny Tucker born October 17, 1945

Johnny Tucker (October 17, 1945 - July 8, 2025) was an American blues drummer, vocalist and songwriter.

John Franklin Tucker was born in Fresno, California. He was the son of a Texas sharecropper and his wife, the tenth of nineteen children and the first born after the family’s move to California. His interest in music began on the family’s porch, listening to his father playing the guitar for his mother. He was first influenced by Lowell Fulson’s “Black Nights” and the music of James Brown, learning the music by singing along and playing to the rhythmic drum beats on cans.

 Although Tucker and his siblings spent their fair share of time picking cotton, his father’s encouragement and love of music enabled teenage Johnny to start work as a musician. “My daddy said, ‘You all play in a band and play down at the club. Y’all gonna make about $12 a night. You make $12, and y’all don’t have to go pick no cotton."

                                   

By 1964, he went to Los Angeles and took a job with Phillip Walker as a featured singer in a James Brown act. He later became Walker’s drummer and toured internationally with his band for 34 years.  Throughout his career, Tucker performed with top artists including Floyd Dixon, Robert Cray, Johnny Otis, The Five Royales, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Lowell Folson and Johnny Copeland. He travelled and performed extensively in the U.S., Canada, Japan and Europe.

His discography  includes five albums: Stranded, an album with James “Broadway” Thomas (1997); Why You Lookin' At Me? (2006, HighJohn Records); Seven Day Blues (2018, HighJohn Records), and 75 and Alive featuring Kid Ramos and The Allstars (2020, HighJohn Records). Having reached a milestone birthday on October 17, 2020, this also happened to be the day the album was recorded in partnership with Blue Heart Records. Bob Auerbach selected Kid Ramos to produce this collection of twelve originals. Ramos assembled The Allstars band, featuring Carl Sonny Leyland, John Bazz, Jason Lozano, Bob Corritore and Ron Dziubla. 

Kid Ramos and Johnny Tucker

Tucker met Ramos in 2006 at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, when both musicians were part of Floyd Dixon’s historic last performance, which has been preserved and is available in a deluxe audio/video set entitled Time Brings About A Change. Seven Day Blues earned a Silver Medal in the Global Music Awards and Johnny was named Comeback Artist of the Year in the 29th Annual Living Blues Awards (2022).

On July 8, 2025 Johnny Tucker died due to complications from dementia. Thee world lost a gifted musician and one of the last of a generation of bluesmen who personally experienced the lifestyle and truly felt the traditional blues he performed for more than sixty years.  His rare commodity was as an electrifying vocalist & his song writing technique was even more unusual as he would he puts together lyrics in the studio, while listening to the band and singing words to fit the grooves.

(Edited from Blues. Gr & Discogs)