Long John Hunter

Biography

John Thurman Hunter Jr. (July 13, 1931 – January 4, 2016), known by the stage name Long John Hunter, was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He released seven albums in his own name, and in his later years found critical acknowledgement outside of his homeland. Hunter's best known tracks are "El Paso Rock" and "Alligators Around My Door", the latter of which Hunter co-wrote with Bruce Iglauer. Hunter was born in Ringgold, Louisiana. He was raised on a fa...

John Thurman Hunter Jr. (July 13, 1931 – January 4, 2016), known by the stage name Long John Hunter, was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.

He released seven albums in his own name, and in his later years found critical acknowledgement outside of his homeland. Hunter's best known tracks are "El Paso Rock" and "Alligators Around My Door", the latter of which Hunter co-wrote with Bruce Iglauer.
Hunter was born in Ringgold, Louisiana. He was raised on a farm in Magnolia, Arkansas, but by his early twenties was working in a box factory in Beaumont, Texas. He bought his first guitar after attending a B. B. King concert, and then adopted the stage name of Long John Hunter in 1953. Hunter saw his first single, "She Used to Be My Woman" b/w "Crazy Girl", released by Duke Records in 1953. By 1957 he had relocated to El Paso, Texas, and found employment playing at the Lobby Club in Juárez, Mexico. He remained there for over thirteen years, seeing the release of several singles in the early 1960s on local record labels. These tracks included one of his most notable numbers, "El Paso Rock".

In 1988, his album, Texas Border Town Blues was released. In 1992, Ride with Me preceded a couple more albums for Alligator Records, Border Town Legend (1996) and Swinging from the Rafters (1997). In 1999, Hunter teamed up with Lonnie Brooks and Phillip Walker to release Lone Star Shootout.

Hunter appeared at the Long Beach Blues Festival in both 1996 and 2000. His last album release was Looking for a Party (2009).

He died on January 4, 2016, at his home in Phoenix, Arizona.

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