Joanna Connor
Birthed in Brooklyn on August 31, 1962, Joanna was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts from the age of 4. Enamored of her mommy’s Taj Mahal and Jimi Hendrix albums as a child, Joanna got her initial guitar at age 7 and sang with different Worcester teams while still in high school. She transformed specialist in 1981, forming the Pino/Connor Band with guitarist Ken Pino, which was carried out at various clubs as well as colleges throughout New England. She was called “Best R&B Vocalist of the Year” by Worcester Magazine.
After showing up in the Windy City, Joanna first joined the combo of slide guitar great Johnny Littlejohn and started playing the neighborhood club circuit. In March of 1985, guitar player Dion Payton welcomed Joanna Connor to join his preferred 43rd Street Blues Band, sensibly featuring Joanna’s abilities plainly at leading neighborhood clubs such as Kingston Mines and also the Checkerboard Lounge. Connor established the town’s solemn blues bars on fire with her slashing lead guitar work, her passionate slide solos, as well as incendiary vocals. Artists that Joanna admired when she was growing up, artists such as Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and James Cotton, began to take notice. Joanna’s track record continuously expand as she backed Payton on his track for the well-known New Bluebloods cd.
By the autumn of 1987, Joanna was undoubtedly prepared to assemble her very own band. She assembled the first edition of her very own combination of comprehensive national exploring with veteran tone saxophonist A.C. Reed. Her band became a full-time priority a few months later on.
Albums
Believe It! (Blind Pig Records) (1989)
Fight (Blind Pig Records) (1992)
Living On The Road (1993)
Rock & Roll Gypsy (Ruf Records) (1995)
Big Girl Blues (Blind Pig Records) (1996)
Slidetime (Blind Pig Records) (1998)
Nothing But The Blues (live in Germany) (2001)
The Joanna Connor Band (M.C. Records) (2002)
Mercury Blues (M.C. Records)
Unplugged at Carterco with Lance Lewis (Bluesblaster Records) (2008)
Live 24 (live at Kingston Mines) (2010)
Six String Stories (M.C. Records) (2016)
Rise (M.C. Records) (2019)
4801 South Indiana Avenue (KTBA Records) (2021)
