Johnny Temple

John Temple (sometimes credited with his nickname as Johnny "Geechie" Temple), b. October 18, 1906 in Canton, Madison County, MS, d. November 22, 1968 in Jackson, Hinds County, MS, buried at Christian Valley Methodist Church Cemetery in Silver City, Humphreys County, MS. Temple learned guitar from his stepfather Slim Duckett, a well-known performer from the Jackson area who later recorded for OKeh Records in 1930. Temple could also play the mandolin and often worked at house parties and juke-joints. In 1932 he moved to Chicago where he worked as a general all-round musician and recorded blues for both Decca and Vocalion Records. He worked with the famous McCoy brothers and recorded as part of the knockabout jazz group the Harlem Hamfats. He continued to work in Chicago until well into the post-war period, appearing with artists such as Billy Boy Arnold and Walter Horton, as well as forming his own group, the Rolling Four. In the mid-60s he returned to Jackson where, after a period of ill health, he died from cancer at the age of 62.

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Johnny Temple (b. October 18, 1906 - d. November 22, 1968) was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer, who was active in the 1930s and 1940s. He was variously billed as Johnny Temple, Johnnie Temple and Johnnie "Geechie" Temple.

Temple was born in Canton, Mississippi, and grew up around Jackson. He learned to play guitar and mandolin as a child and began playing house parties as a teenager. While in Jackson he befriended Skip James. He moved to Chicago in the early 1930s and started playing with Joe McCoy in clubs. Temple began recording songs such as "The Evil Devil Blues" and "Lead Pencil Blues" in 1935. His most popular record, "Louise Louise Blues," released by Decca Records, was a hit in 1936. The Harlem Hamfats, a Chicago jazz band formed in 1936, provided backup music for Temple and other singers. By 1940, Decca had released two dozen of his records. Temple continued recording with various labels through most of the 1940s. His connection with the record producer Mayo Williams provided him with recording opportunities until 1949. After World War II, Temple played an important role in welcoming blues musicians who arrived from the South. Though his recording career ended, he continued to perform gigs, often alongside Big Walter Horton and Billy Boy Arnold. He returned to Mississippi in the mid-1950s, where he continued to perform in clubs and juke joints in and around Jackson.

Temple eventually gave up the blues to become a minister. He died of cancer on November 22, 1968, aged 62, in Jackson.

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By Cub Koda

Johnnie Temple is one of the great unsung heroes of the blues. A contemporary of Skip James, Son House, and other Delta legends, Temple was one of the very first to develop the now-standard bottom-string boogie bass figure, generally credited to Robert Johnson.

Born and raised in Mississippi, Temple learned to play guitar and mandolin as a child. By the time he was a teenager, he was playing house parties and various other local events. Temple moved to Chicago in the early '30s, where he quickly became part of the town's blues scene. Often, he performed with Charlie and Joe McCoy. In 1935, Temple began his recording, releasing "Louise Louise Blues" the following year on Decca Records.

Although he never achieved stardom, Temple's records -- which were released on a variety of record labels -- sold consistently throughout the late '30s and '40s. In the '50s, his recording career stopped, but he continued to perform, frequently with Big Walter Horton and Billy Boy Arnold. Once electrified post-war blues overtook acoustic blues in the mid-'50s, Temple left Chicago and moved to Mississippi. After he returned to his homestate, he played clubs and juke joints around the Jackson area for a few years before he disappeared from the scene. Johnny Temple died in 1968.