Macon Magazine

28 l MACON MAGAZINE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 'BLUES IS FEELING' For the self-taught Jenkins, that pure tone proved to be the perfect delivery vehicle for blues-drenched licks, bracing vocal accompaniments, and an extension of his equally unadorned musical philosophy. "I don't even know music," Jenkins said in a self- deprecating moment during a 1970 interview. "And so when I'm out there, I'm out there playing solely from feeling, because that's all I have to offer. It can't come from no pattern, no sheet of paper, no teacher, cause I've never been involved with that. Blues is feeling." Born in 1939 in the Swi Creek community, just east of Macon's city limit, Johnny Edward Jenkins joined a working-class family and a community steeped in a diverse array of music. Recalling his first musical experiences, Jenkins said: "I used to play at the filling stations, and most of the people around there were white. I was playing hillbilly then ... just me and a guitar. I could sing just about anything Hank Williams ever put out!" Within a few years of dropping out of junior high, Jenkins was working as a professional musician around Macon. By his 20th birthday, he and e Pinetoppers were headlining throughout the Southeast and developing a reputation that took off when the band added a young singer named Otis Redding. At the time in the late 1950s, Redding was developing a devoted following through talent show performances around Macon, and as Jenkins recalled in an interview for writer Peter Guralnick's book "Sweet Soul Music," the older guitarist took the initiative in recruiting the young soul singer. "I went up to him (aer a show at the Douglass eater), and I said, 'Do you mind if I play behind you? ... I can make you sound good,'" Jenkins said. "Well, he sounded great with me playing behind him - and he knowed it." With Redding on vocals but Jenkins still very much the star of the show, e Pinetoppers had a number of minor hits in the early '60s, notably the high-energy "Shout Bamalama," and toured mostly college campuses throughout the South. Following the success of Jenkins' "Love Twist," an instrumental single on Maconite Phil Walden's tiny Tiffco label in 1962, the band headed to Memphis to record at the legendary Stax studio. From most accounts, e Pinetoppers were not in top form during the session, and with 40 minutes of studio time remaining and progress at a standstill, Redding asked the band if he could record an original. e resulting single was, "ese Arms of Mine," with Jenkins strumming on guitar. e recording made its way onto the national charts, catapulting Redding to national fame but unofficially marking the beginning of the end of Redding and Jenkins' working relationship. Citing a fear of flying, Jenkins declined Redding's offer to join his band once the young singer had secured a major record deal, and Jenkins returned to his family and a life of gigging in and around Macon. BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT In 1970, nearly three years aer Redding's tragic death in a plane crash, Jenkins stepped back into the spotlight with the album, "Ton-Ton Macoute!." Following Redding's untimely death, brothers Alan and Phil Walden along with Frank Fenter had launched Capricorn Records in 1969 and signed their flagship group e Allman Brothers Band to their fledgling roster. Jenkins, as usual, was in in-demand performing locally, but the Waldens were convinced his star could rise much further on Capricorn. Recruiting a house band that included most of the Allman Brothers, including Duane Allman but minus Gregg Allman, along with Hornsby and a bevy of Capricorn session musicians, the album features inventive covers of songs from artists as diverse as Dr. John, Bob Dylan and John Lee Hooker. Today, the album is recognized as a critical success and is coveted by Duane Allman fans because of his contributions on several tracks. But, in Jenkins' mind, it failed to capture his singular sound and style. Most of the music was performed separately, with Jenkins later recording the vocals. "I wasn't there with the guys when they were making the rest of it, you know," Jenkins said shortly aer the record's release, referring to his absence during most of the recording session. "More blues would be my style, if I had been there. You can't make a person what he's not ... (he) has to give out what's inside him."

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