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Itinerary
 "To me, there’s only one kind of music, and that’s good music."
- Jimmy Burns
Singer, guitarist, and songwriter, Jimmy Burns is a contemporary bluesman who
combines his Delta roots with R&B and soul to come up with a sound uniquely his own.
Burns is a charismatic performer with an expressive, soulful, voice and a melodic guitar
style to match.
With a keen sense of his musical heritage Burns has created an upbeat style that has
won critical acclaim both at home and abroad. Born near Dublin, Mississippi in 1943,
Burns was fascinated by music early on. He loved the sounds coming out of the church,
and the blues he heard on the streets. Burns’ sang in church and taught himself how to
play guitar while he was still in the Delta. One of his particular favorites was Lightnin’
Hopkins, His oldest brother, renowned Detroit bluesman Eddie Burns, is also a guitarist
who played with John Lee Hooker for a number of years before striking out on his own.
Burns was 12 when his family moved to Chicago. Within a year he was singing with a
gospel group called the Gay Lites. Secular music also beckoned. Living on the Near
North Side, he was caught up in the music of The Impressions and Major Lance who
would rehearse in a park near his home. In 1959, at the age of 16 he joined The
Medallionaires, an established vocal group, and did some recording. Burns was also part
of the folk scene in the early 60s. He sang and played guitar at The Fickle Pickle,
(booked at that time by Mike Bloomfield), the Gate of Horn, and coffeehouses around
town.
As R&B turned to soul in the 60s Burns cut a few soul singles for the USA, Minit, Tip Top
and Erica labels. One of his Erica singles, I Really Love You , is a collector’s item in Great
Britain. Burns traveled throughout the Midwest, with a band called the Fantastic Epics.
They appeared at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago on a bill with Jeff Beck and the
Yardbirds. He formed his own band in the late 60s called Jimmy Burns and the Gas
Company. The reality of raising a family however, cut short Burns’ full-time musical
career. Throughout the 70s and 80s he stayed close to home, continuing to play clubs
and concert venues around town.
With the blues never far from his soul, Burns returned to playing full-time in the midnineties.
He started out with a regular gig at Smokedaddy’s in Chicago, and it wasn’t
long before Bob Koester of Delmark Records signed him to record a CD. Leaving Here
Walking was a hit right out of the gate, winning Best Blues Record of the Year, from the
National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD), the French Academie
Du Jazz’s Big Bill Broonzy Award, and two W.C. Handy Award nominations. National
and international tours followed, as Burns played to enthusiastic audiences in clubs and
festivals across the country, and in Europe and Japan.
With three Delmark albums under his belt, and an upcoming DVD/CD release due in
February 2007 Burns is primed to take his soulful, rockin’ blues and R&B to a wider
audience. His recently re-formed band includes South and West Side musicians,
Anthony Palmer on guitar, E.G. McDaniel on bass, and James Carter on drums. As the
Jimmy Burns Band, this tight band of veteran musicians rocks the house all night long.
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