Kathleen Loves Music

Johnny Woods
Mississippi Harmonica

Produced by Tom Pomposello and Fred Seibert

Original 45rpm single. Click the titles to play.

1. Long Haired Doney
2. Three O’Clock in the Morning
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Oblivion Records
O#2 (1972) [45 rpm single]

Click here to read some of the stories behind this record.

And click here for covers, photographs, and other printed ephemera.
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Original credits

Johnny Woods: harmonica

Recorded Thursday, April 27, 1972, Olive Branch, Mississippi, by Tom Pomposello

Remastered by Fred Seibert

Graphics by the Oblivionettes featuring Susan DeLaney

Cover photo by Tom Pomposello

This recording was made possible by a special grant from the Dick Pennington Blues Foundation

Addition copies of this disc can be had by sending $1.00 (plus 25 cents for postage and handling) to:

Oblivion Records
P.O. Box X
Roslyn Heights, New York 11577

©(P) 1972
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Original liner notes

During the spring of 1972, I spent some time in Mississippi visiting with my friend and teacher Fred McDowell. Now Fred had promised to show me around and introduce me to a few of his musical cronies, and I told Fred that I’d especially like to meet his old harminica playing sidekick, Johnny WOoods. I had know about Johnny first form the way Fred, whenever the subject turned to harp players, would say, “backhome we got a boy named Little Johnny Wooodsman, that boy is a harmonica playin’ fool, sure as you’re born.” I had also known about him from the appearance he made with Fred at the 1969 Memphis Blues Festical (subsequent to which studio material was released), and also from some field recordings made by George Mitchell. A lot of people might remember Jojhnny solely for an Ann arbor Blues Festical “appearance-fiasco” in which he kind of screwed up the McDowell-Woods set. Johnny doesn’t have the best reputation for holding his liquor. After that he sort of drifted in oblivion (yeah).

Locating Mr. Woods was not the easiest task. Jojhnny used to live in the town Senatobia, which is about ten miles north of Como, Fred’s hometown. But Johnny is a farmer, and as such he must go where the work is. Word had reached us that he had re-located in the town of Olive Branch, just south of Memphis. Try as we micht we just couldn’t find him that April morning. Whenever we got to the place where he was supposed to be for sure, for sure he wasn’t there. Until finally acting upon a tip from a person who was acquatied with Johnny’s employer, we tracked him down to a farm on the proverbial outskirts of town.

It was about noon when we pulled up into the dirt driveway and headed up the long path towards an old shack. There on the proch I could make our the figure of a small gray-haired man peering primly at our approaching vehicle. Fred smiled, “That’s him, Tom.” Then I watched as Johnny’
S face lit up when he realized it was Fred. The two hadn’t seen each other in months. Johnny called inside to his wife. “look who’s here. It’s Fred. Freddy McDowell!
We got out of the car. Fred made the introductions and Jojhnny invited us inside. We were fortunate to have caught Johnny during his lunch b reak. While we talked, Fred told me to play the tapes of the session that he and I had done in New York. And as the subject shifted to music, Joohnny confided that he hadn’t been playing much lately and besides he’s had to payn his last harp when things got tough. Luckily Fred had anticipated that this might be the case and before we started out he had told me to bring along a couple of my harmonicas. Well Johnny, I fuess it’s time for us to hear some of your sutff,” Fred smiled again at me as if to say ‘wait’ll you hear this,’ then he looked at Johnny, chuckled, and said, “Go on boy.” And Johnny blew, tapped his foot in rhythm and sang, “Well, gonna see my long haried do-o-ney…” I don’t exaggerate when I tell you that I was overwhelmed. When he finished, and I had expressed my entusiasm to him Johnny grinned as he said, “You know, it don’t sound like much to me.” Fred and I grinned too and I asked for an encore. Johnny came outside and I snapped a few pictures while he posed in front of Fred’s new Ponitac. An interesting contrast indeed. We shook hands and make our good-byes for it was about time fot Johnny to get back up on his tractor (note hard hat in cover photo).

Here then are the two harmonica solos exactly as Johnny Woods played them that day during his lunch break complete and unedited from the time I turned on the tape recorder.

– Tom Pomposello
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I’m posting many of my out-of-print record productions from the 1970s. Travis Pomposello and I are the owners of these master recordings.