Johnnie Johnson
Blue Hand Johnnie

Listening notes

Blue Hand Johnnie is a 1988 vinyl release by Johnnie Johnson on the Pulsar (3) label, catalog number Pul1002. Filed under Blues, Electric Blues, and Piano Blues, the album presents ten tracks divided evenly across two sides, with five selections per side.

Side A opens with Johnnie’s Boogie (2:34) and proceeds through See See Rider (4:52), O.J. Blues (4:08), Black Nights (3:52), and Talkin’ Woman (3:33). The combined running time for Side A is approximately 18:59. The program balances concise pieces with mid-length performances, with titles that reference boogie and blues forms alongside evocative themes.

Side B includes Honky Tonk (3:52), Slow Train (3:28), Baby What You Want Me To Do (4:06), Way South (5:00), and concludes with Johnnie B. Goode (2:30). Side B totals approximately 18:56. At five minutes, Way South is the album’s longest track, while Johnnie B. Goode is the shortest. The sequencing places a pair of succinct bookends—Johnnie’s Boogie at the start and Johnnie B. Goode at the close—around a set that ranges across the album’s listed genres.

Across its ten titles, the set reflects a mix of blues idioms consistent with its genre tags, including electric and piano-inflected approaches. Track names such as Johnnie’s Boogie, O.J. Blues, and Black Nights signal a focus on blues forms, while inclusions like See See Rider, Honky Tonk, and Baby What You Want Me To Do appear alongside Way South and Talkin’ Woman. The presence of Johnnie B. Goode as the closing cut is explicitly noted in the tracklist.

The album’s total running time is approximately 37:55. As issued, Blue Hand Johnnie is a vinyl format release identified by Pulsar (3) Pul1002 and dated to 1988. The information above reflects the provided track titles, positions, and durations, as well as the listed genre attributions for Blues, Electric Blues, and Piano Blues. Further details about personnel, recording circumstances, or reception are not included in the available data and are therefore not addressed here.