J.B. Lenoir Historical Marker

J.B. Lenoir was born on March 5, 1929 (interestingly, J.B. are not initials; J.B. is his first name) on his family farm, which was close to Monticello. His father, Dewitt, played the guitar and introduced the instrument to Lenoir as well as the music of Texas blues artist Blind Lemon Jefferson. Other musicians were influential as well including Lightning Hopkins and Arthur Crudup. When he was a teenager, Lenoir left home to start playing as a traveling musician. For a time, he lived in Gulfport and then moved to New Orleans. He finally settled in Chicago by 1949.

There, he performed with several prominent artists including Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzy, and Memphis Minnie. He also started his own band called "J.B. and his Bayou Boys." His 1951 single, "Korea," was particularly noteworthy during the early years of his career as it showed his willingness to address political and social issues head on. Unsurprisingly, the song was controversial. Then in 1954, Lenoir recorded another, more controversial song called "Eisenhower Blues." As a result, the studio forced him to rerecord the song as "Tax Paying Blues." The next year, however, Lenoir recorded what is considered his most popular song, "Mama Talk to Your Daughter," which has been covered many times. He also earned a reputation for showmanship with his high-pitched voice and a zebra-patterned striped tuxedo that he often wore.

In the mid-1960s, Lenoir and his band recorded several songs that were released in Europe. These included politically and socially charged songs “Born Dead,” “Vietnam Blues,” “Shot on James Meredith,” “Alabama March,” and “Down in Mississippi.” They were not released in the U.S. until many years later but the band did play some of them on a tour of Europe in 1965.

Unfortunately, Lenoir died on April 29, 1967 in Champaign, Illinois of a heart attack. Three weeks earlier he was in a car accident (his car was rear ended) and it was believed that the heart attack was related to the incident. He was featured in a 2003 documentary called "The Soul of a Man" and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011.

Dahl, Bill. "J.B. Lenoir." All Music. Accessed January 18, 2020. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jb-lenoir-mn0000115733/biography.

"J.B. Lenoir." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed January 18, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=79029.

"J.B. Lenoir - Monticello." Mississippi Blues Trail. 2011. Accessed January 18, 2020. http://www.msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/j-b-lenoir.

Morris, Chris. "J.B. Lenoir - Biography." Accessed January 18, 2020. https://www.amoeba.com/j-b-lenoir/artist/162811/bio.