Jelly Roll Johnson

Harmonica player Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson is quietly keeping up the tradition of virtuoso harp playing that has been passed along by men such as Sonny Boy Williamson and Little Walter. After kicking around the Lake Charles and Knoxville, Tennessee areas, Johnson eventually fell into a full-time gig with country artist Con Hunley in 1979. Since then he has grown, along with his reputation, into one of the finest harp players in the industry. Johnson moved to Nashville in 1984 and his early session work, playing on Randy Travis' debut, proved to be a hit, giving several producers the chance to hear Johnson's playing. Since then he has played on records by the Judds, Alabama, B.B. King, Shania Twain, and Reba McEntire, among others. ~ Steve Kurutz