Junior Wells (Born Amos Blakemore)
December 9, 1934 – January 15, 1998
Junior Wells was one of the premiere bluesmen of the Chicago scene during the ’50s and ’60s. After moving from Arkansas to Chicago in 1948, Wells landed his first significant gig when he was hired to replace Little Walter on harmonica in Muddy Waters’ band. In 1953, Wells began cutting his own records for the States label and later, Chief and Profile. Over the course of his career he released such great recordings as “Messin’ With the Kid,” “It Hurts Me Too,” and “Little By Little.” During the ’60s, Wells began collaborating with Buddy Guy, appearing on several of each others’ records. And it was during this time that a handful of his recordings were included on Vanguard Records’ Chicago/The Blues/Today! series, which is credited for introducing Chicago blues to white America. In 1997, Wells was diagnosed with cancer. While receiving treatment, he suffered a heart attack, and went into a coma, from which he never recovered. Junior Wells was 65 when he passed away on January 15, 1998.
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