John Campbell (blues guitarist)
John Allen Campbell, also known as Johnny “Slim” Campbell, was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was born January 20, 1952, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and died June 13, 1993, in New York City at age 41.
He started his career in Texas with the electric blues group Junction, formed in 1973 in Corpus Christi. The band broke up in 1975, around the same time Campbell released his first album, Street Suite. In the 1980s he spent time at Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas, recording acoustic blues demos that were released in 2000 as Tyler, Texas Session. As a solo artist, he played in East Texas clubs and also performed in New Orleans.
In 1985 he moved to New York City and joined the local blues scene. His album A Man And His Blues, produced by Ronnie Earl, was recorded in April 1988 and released on a small German label. He followed with One Believer (1991) and Howlin Mercy (1993). His version of When the Levee Breaks is a cover of the 1929 song by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie, a song also famously covered by Led Zeppelin.
Campbell was known for a distinctive rhythm and slide-heavy guitar style. He favored a 1952 Gibson Southern Jumbo acoustic, a 1934 National Steel, and a 1940s National resonator guitar. He married actress Yolande Dolly Fox in 1990, and they had one daughter, Paris Campbell. He died of a heart attack at his home in Manhattan on June 13, 1993.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:25 (CET).