Biography

Born Esserlaine Jones in Baton Rouge, La., JJ Bad Boy Jones began playing the guitar at age 5 and singing in a Baptist church choir soon after. At 16 he took a job as a long-haul truck driver and started to compose lyrics as he drove. He quit his day job after undergoing back surgery in 1996, Lyle said. He was almost 70 at the time. Small in stature with a powerful voice, Jones arrived in Los Angeles in the late 1950s and began performing in local clubs and bars. He was faithful to the blues music he grew up with in the South, playing songs made popular by a number of his friends, particularly Albert King; King’s brother, B.B. King; Stevie Ray Vaughn; and Jones’ cousin, Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones. Jones’ friends called him the “bad boy” of blues guitarists as a sign of respect, and he was dubbed J.J. by Albert King as a compliment suggesting his own legendary brother. With his band, “The Bad Boys,” Jones regularly performed at Harvelle’s Blues Club in Santa Monica, B.B. King’s Club at Universal City and Babe’s and Ricky’s Inn in Los Angeles. “J.J. was a fixture in the Los Angeles blues scene,” said Jan Garfinkle, who played keyboard with Jones’ band for many years. “He played traditional blues and he was an excellent guitarist, even in his 70s.” Jones recorded three albums. The best-known, “Ashes in the Wind” (Aries Records), was released in 1998.

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