bio

Junior Wells, original name Amos Blackmore, (born December 9, 1934, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.—died January 15, 1998, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), American blues singer and harmonica player who was one of the musicians who introduced electric Chicago blues to international audiences and, from 1965, was one of the most popular of all blues performers. Junior Wells，原名Amos Blackmore，（1934年12月9日出生于美国田纳西州孟菲斯 - 1998年1月15日卒于美国伊利诺伊州芝加哥），美国蓝调歌手和口琴演奏家，是向国际观众介绍电子芝加哥蓝调的音乐家之一，从1965年开始，他是所有蓝调表演者中最受欢迎的人之一。

The son of an Arkansas sharecropper, Wells moved in 1946 with his mother to Chicago. He performed At age 18 Wells replaced Little Walter as harmonica player in the city’s finest blues band, fronted by Muddy Waters, and led his own first recording session. Wells went on to success as a Chicago entertainer, had an early 1960s hit record "Messin’ with the Kid," and was in the midst of an extended engagement at the Chicago nightclub Theresa’s when in 1965 he recorded one of the first Chicago blues albums, the popularHoodoo Man Blues,accompanied by guitarist Buddy Guy. The next year the Wells-Guy team first toured Europe; as white blues audiences grew larger, the pair made numerous recordings and played in many concert tours in the 1960s and ’70s, including as the opening act for the Rolling Stones. 威尔斯是阿肯色州佃农的儿子，1946年随母亲搬到芝加哥。他在18岁时表演，威尔斯取代小沃尔特成为该市最好的蓝调乐队的口琴手，由Muddy Waters主唱，并领导了他自己的第一次录音。威尔斯继续作为芝加哥艺人取得成功，拥有 1960 年代初的热门唱片“Messin' with the Kid”，并在芝加哥夜总会特蕾莎的长时间订婚中，当时他在 1965 年录制了第一批芝加哥蓝调专辑之一，流行的 Hoodoo Man Blues，由吉他手 Buddy Guy 伴奏。第二年，Wells-Guy团队首次巡回欧洲;随着白人蓝调观众的增加，这对搭档在 1960 年代和 70 年代录制了大量唱片并在许多巡回演唱会上演出，包括作为滚石乐队的开场表演。

Wells was noted for his elegant attire and his grand, energetic manner, both in his many performances with Guy and with the bands he led on his own. He selected his repertoire from senior bluesmen, including harmonica players Junior Parker and the first Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson, who had influenced him; both his singing and playing were uniquely dramatic and intense and punctuated with shouts, sexual moans, and humorous asides. Wells’s 1996 album,Come On in This House,won a W.C. Handy Blues Award. Before his final illness from cancer he appeared in the movieBlues Brothers 2000; days before his death his 1997 album,Live at Buddy Guy’s Legends,was nominated for a Grammy Award. 威尔斯以其优雅的服装和宏伟而充满活力的举止而闻名，无论是在他与盖伊的许多表演中还是在他自己领导的乐队中。他从资深布鲁斯手中挑选了他的曲目，包括口琴手少年帕克和影响过他的第一个桑尼男孩（约翰李）威廉姆森;他的歌唱和演奏都是独特的戏剧性和激烈，并穿插着喊叫、性呻吟和幽默。威尔斯1996年的专辑《Come On in This House》获得了W.C. Handy蓝调奖。在他最终患上癌症之前，他出现在电影《蓝调兄弟2000》中;在他去世前几天，他1997年的专辑Live at Buddy Guy's Legends被提名为格莱美奖。