Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson

• Name — Luther "Georgia Boy" Johnson • Birth Name — Lucious Brinson Johnson • Alias — Luther "Snake" Johnson • Born — 30 August 1934 • Birthplace — Davisboro, Georgia, U.S. • Died — 18 March 1976 • Place of death — Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. • Instrument — * Guitar • vocals • Genre — * Chicago blues • electric blues • Occupation — * Musician • songwriter • Years Active — 1950s–1976 • Label — * Black & Blue • Muse

Johnson was born Lucious Brinson Johnson in Davisboro, Georgia. He was raised on a farm and taught himself to play guitar. After completing his service in the US Army, Johnson played guitar with the Milwaukee Supreme Angels, a local gospel group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, he gravitated towards blues and formed his own trio in Milwaukee. He relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in the early 1960s. He backed Elmore James prior to James's death in 1963, and joined Muddy Waters' backing band in 1966. Johnson worked with various musicians during this period, including Chicago Bob Nelson. He recorded his debut album, Come On Home, in 1968, with Muddy Waters' band. In 1970, Johnson moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and found work on the blues festival and college circuits for the next few years. His album Born in Georgia was released by Black & Blue Records. It was followed by Chicken Shack (1974), Lonesome in My Bedroom (1975), and the final album issued in his lifetime, Get Down to the Nitty Gritty (1976). On records issued in his lifetime, he was credited as either Luther Johnson or Luther "Georgia Boy" Johnson, though he was also known to contemporaries as Luther "Snake" Johnson. Johnson died of cancer in Boston on March 18, 1976. He was interred at the Mount Hope Cemetery, in Mattapan, Massachusetts, where in 2014 the Killer Blues Project organised placing a headstone for him.