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Friday's headliner is Super Chikan & The Fighting Cocks. 2010 has been exciting for James “Super Chikan” Johnson. Nominated for four 2010 Blues Music Awards by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, including BB King Entertainer of the Year, Song of the Year for "Fred's Dollar Store," Traditional Blues Male Artist, Chikan won the BMA for Traditional Blues Album for Chikadelic.
Super Chikan was previously nominated for the Best New Artist Blues Music Award in 1998, has received five Living Blues Critics Awards, and the Mississippi Governorʼs Award for Excellence in the Arts. Super Chikan was also signed as a celebrity spokesperson by Fred’s Dollar Stores, the 600-plus store chain.
Starting off with a sold-out New Year’s Eve show at Ground Zero, Chikan went on to his first Blues Cruise, a tour to Winnipeg, Canada, and a recording session at Sirius/XM Radio. Festival performances include the Reykjavik Blues Festival, Juke Joint Festival, McDowell Mountain Music Festival, The Levitt Shell, The Robert Johnson Birthday Celebration, Eureka Springs Blues Weekend, Waterfront Blues Festival, National Folk Festival, Suwalki Blues Festival, Rauma Blues Festival, Sunflower Festival, Heritage Music Festival, Edmonton's Labatt Blues Festival, Howlin' Wolf Blues Festival, Greater Ozarks Blues Festival, MS Blues & Heritage Festival, Garvin Gate Blues Festival, Bukka White Blues Festival, and the Lucerne Blues Festival. |
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Chikan spent his childhood working on his family's farms. He took care of the chickens, and he would walk around talking to them. This led his friends to give him the nickname "Chikan Boy". Growing up, Johnson was exposed to legendary bluesmen hanging around his Grandfather’s place, Jimmy Reed being Super Chikan’s favorite.
Chikan made his first musical instrument, a "diddley bow," a board with a piece of baling wire stretched end to end. Chikan came up with new ways to improve and vary the sounds he could make with it, and finally, at the age of thirteen, he bought his first guitar from The Salvation Army. He continued to play, even though he had to drive tractors and trucks for a living. He even played bass for his uncle’s band, The Jelly Roll Kings-Big Jack Johnson, Frank Frost, and Sam Carr.
Eventually Super Chikan decided he would rather perform on his own than to play other people’s music. He composed several songs, and when he played some of the songs to friends, they convinced him to record them.
In 1997 Super Chikan released his debut album, Blues Come Home to Roost. He went on to release What You See in 2000, Shoot That Thang in 2001, Chikan Supe in 2005, and Sum Mo Chikan in 2008. Chikadelic, Super Chikan's latest CD, was recorded at the famed Juke Joint Studios in Notodden,Norway. Chikadelic won the 2010 Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year.
Super Chikan is backed by The Fighting Cocks, three ladies who really boogie the blues--Laura “Lala” Craig on keyboards, Heather Tackett on bass, and Super Chikan’s daughter Jamiesa Turner on drums.
Web Site YouTube
Super Chikan & The Fighting Cocks - MySpace
Super Chikan - MySpace |
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