Shirley Johnson
★★★★
Selfish Kind Of Gal
DELMARK. LP
Coloured vinyl introduction to Chicago’s ‘Sweetheart of the blues’.
Church-reared Shirley Johnson nurtured her soulful blues on the ’70s Norfolk, VA scene opening for acts such as Aretha, Jerry Butler and ZZ Hill before moving to Chicago in 1983 on the promise of a record deal that fell through. She remained in the city though, performing at the Checkerboard Lounge, and eventually signing with Delmark to release 2002’s Killer Diller and 2009’s Blues Attack, both CD only. Selfish Kind Of Gal cherry picks from the pair on vinyl. The performances are raw and gutsy, mining similar territory to Ruth Brown, Koko Taylor and Etta James, with Johnson’s gritty, deep vocals backed by a purposeful band – guitar, bass, drums, piano/B3 and occasional brass from Willie Henderson – with highs ranging from the declamatory I’m Going To Find Me A Lover to the hurting You Shouldn’t Have Been There.