Super Chikan and the Fighting Cocks

Born in Darling, Mississippi on February 16, 1951, James "Super Chikan" Johnson didn't come into the world with much to call his own.



He grew up in his grandmother's house with 21 cousins, uncles and aunts. The family lived out on a Delta farm, picked cotton and scratched for everything they got.



Out of this tough environment, Chikan did have one good turn of fortune. "My mama had a two string guitar from the Army surplus store," explains Chikan. "I learnt my first notes from her. I learned to play like Jimmy Reed on those two strings. I also heard James Brown, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. I was listening to blues AND country & western. I never knew there was a difference. That why I call my new album 'Chikan Supe.' Regardless of what I'm playing it all comes out together. Music is music as far as I'm concerned. If it works, it works."



Chikan's eclectic brand of blues also benefited from his early experiments with homemade instruments. "I was about 7 years old, and I made my first diddley bow [one-string guitar] upside my Grandma's barn. I was out there playing on that thing so much that one day a guy stopped to hear me play. He told me that he could take me and that thing to Washington, and we'd be rich in two week's time. I ran in and told my Grandmother, and she said, 'Boy you crazy. You can't carry that barn to Washington.'"



Luckily, other opportunities came Chikan's way. "My Uncle Big Jack [Johnson] had a club in Clarksdale called the Black Fox, and I went in there and played with him when I was in my early 20s," recalls Chikan. "I was shaking in my shoes, but it went pretty good. I ended up playing bass for Big Jack and the Jelly Roll Kings for a while around town."



Eventually, Chikan broke out on his own in the late 1970s, recording a handful of tracks with the Wesley Jefferson Band and three full albums for Rooster Blues and Fat Possum Records. As a result of these recordings, he toured the U.S. as well as Africa, Japan, the UK, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Switzerland. Chikan has even played in Washington, D.C. in front of The President!



Super Chikan's songs are ALL ORIGINAL ! This makes him one of the only non-traditionalist true delta blues writers and performers in the world today.



Still, if you ask him the name of his favorite place to play, and the answer is quick. "Ground Zero Blues Club, right here in my hometown," says Chikan. When Morgan Freeman and Bill Luckett show up, we have a lot of fun because they both love to dance. They say, 'Go Super Chikan, go!'"



According to Chikan, the club has motivated him in other ways, too. "One night after leaving the club, I had a dream about performing there in which I had a 'crossroads' experience, so I wrote a song about it called 'Ground Zero'," he says.



Super Chikan recorded "Sum Mo Chikan" at the legendary producer Willie Mitchell's "Royal Studios" in Memphis, Tn. May 5th , 2007. Lawrence Mitchell, Charley Burch and Super Chikan produced and engineered the record. Willie Mitchell oversaw the entire session. Lawrence Mitchell also mastered the album with Chikan at Royal Studios. Chikan has just finished recording a duo album with Watermelon Slim at Royal Studios and will release in 2009. Chikan's last album is self-released and is signed with Vizztone label group (www.vizztone.com ). BMI is his publisher of all 5 albums. Chikan recorded with Norwegian Blues Band Spoonful of Blues with Jostein Forsberg and Charley Burch producing in Nottoden, Norway in October of 2008 awaiting release in 2009.



Chikan has recently returned from a second European tour in 2008 alone and plans to return in 2009. A few of Chikan's hand made guitars will be on a multi-gallery tour this summer across America and the world. His artwork is currently owned by numerous artists and celebrities and has placement in numerous museums and public buildings worldwide. Steven Seagal, President Bill Clinton, Gov. Haley Barber, Paul Simon, James Burton and Watermelon Slim are just a few of the celebrities that own his masterpieces of functional art.



This former field hand and truck driver has released five acclaimed albums, nominated in 1998 for a W.C. Handy Award (Best New Blues Artist) , received five Living Blues Awards, Excelence in Performance Govenors award from Mexico City, Mx. and a Mississippi Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. Beloved by fans of all musical genres, this self-taught songwriter, musician, painter, craftsman, and, yes, philosopher continues to create. With a twinkle in his eye, he says, "I don't just sing the blues; I am the blues."



The 2010 BMA Traditional Blues Album of The Year "Chikadelic" was Recorded with Spoonful of Blues, Produced by Jostein Forsberg and Co-Produced by Charley Burch with Morten Omlid and Engineered by Peter Lundell at Jook Joint Studios in Notodden, Norway.



Also visit: www.chikanshack.com (Official) , www.superchikan.com, www.superchikan.org and www.summochikan.com are all registered domains of Chikan.



Visit State of Mississippi's site for even more reviews and information at: http://www.arts.state.ms.us/folklife/artist.php?dirname=johnson_james



St. Blues Introduces Four One-Off Collectors' Edition Guitars



For iTunes visit:



http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=258821298



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