Andrew "Jr Boy" Jones

Guitarist, songwriter, and singer Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones began working professionally at age 16 with Freddie King’s backing band, the Thunderbirds. He got his first guitar from his uncle, jazz musician Adolphus Sneed. Jones cites an eclectic array of influences: Freddie King, Cornell Dupree, and Larry Carlton. For many years, he’s backed various Dallas-area vocalists on guitar, but in the mid-’90s, he came into his own as a vocalist with an album for JSP Records, I Need Time (1997), which showcases his crafty songwriting, great guitar playing, and powerful singing. In 1967, Jones joined Dallas-area vocalist Bobby Patterson’s outfit the Mustangs. Through most of the ’70s, Jones backed various artists, including Patterson, Johnnie Taylor, and Charlie Robertson. In late 1987, he went to California and joined the Silent Partners with bassist Russell Jackson and drummer Tony Coleman, the latter of whom is best known for his work with B.B. King’s orchestra. Jones recorded with Bay-area piano player and singer Katie Webster on her critically praised Alligator Records album, Swamp Boogie Queen. Jones met harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite at a Sonny Rhodes recording session, and Musselwhite persuaded him to stay in California and join his band. Jones played guitar on Musselwhite’s three late-’80s/early-’90s albums for Alligator Records (Ace of Harps, In My Time, and Signature). He also had the chance to do some extensive world touring with the harmonica master. Jones left Musselwhite’s band amicably in the mid-’90s and moved back to Dallas, where he accompanied Dallas-area blues singers like R.L. Griffin, Hal Harris & the Lowlifers, and others. He issued Watch What You Say in 1998. ~ Richard Skelly