R.I.P. Johnnie Bassett

More a celebration of life than a funeral, Johnnie Bassett was laid to rest on Saturday.  I was overwhelmed at times to see the hundreds of family, friends and fans who attended and knowing that it was only scratching the surface of all the lives he’s touched over his fifty year career.  I was fortunate to be a part of Johnnies last two records and to have his greatness take me up a notch or two in the process.

During the late 50’s, Johnnie was the guitarist for The Bluenotes, the Fortune Records house band. He also backed The Miracles during a short tenure with Chess Records. He went on to play with the likes of John Lee Hooker, Alberta Adams, Lowell Fulson, Dinah Washington, Little Willie John, Smokey Robinson, Nolan Strong and Bill Heid to name a few. During his time in Seattle, Johnnie hosted a Sunday Night Blues Jam that a young Jimi Hendrix regularly attended.  One of my favorite stories is of Jimi asking Johnnie how he got his guitar sound, and Johnnie telling him “Don’t worry about my sound, find your own sound”.  He then showed Jimi a couple of licks.

Johnnie was extremely close to my extended Codish family, and I know they are feeling the weight of this great loss.  Bob Codish penned a number of Johnnies songs, while Chris headed up the band on keyboards and was responsible for getting Johnnie his deal with Mack Avenue Records.  Cybelle took all of the amazing photographs, including the one I used here.  It’s tough feeling like he had at least one more in him, if not many more, and coming to grips with reality. Farewell.