Jimmy Johnson, the session guitarist and studio engineer who contributed to hundreds of hit records while helping to define the sound of Southern pop and soul music in the 1960s and ’70s, died of Kidney failure.
The Jus’ Blues Honoree Blues Guitarist, was 93 years old.
His death, at Northwest Alabama Medical Center, was confirmed by his longtime friend and collaborator David Hood, who confirmed that the musician had been struggling with kidney failure for some time.
Johnson was born in Holly Springs, MS along with musical brother Syl Johnson. In his younger years, he played piano and sang in gospel groups.
Johnson achieved early acclaim in the 1960s as the rhythm guitarist in the house band at the producer Rick Hall’s FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala.
His undulating swells and bluesy, staccato fills can be heard on recordings like “Respect,” Aretha Franklin’s first No. 1 pop hit, and Wilson Pickett’s “Funky Broadway” and “Land of 1,000 Dances,” both of which reached the Top 10.