My name is Juke Joint Judy and I’m here to play some good old fashioned blues for you. I call my blues “Juke Joint Blues”. This is my story.

I started playing guitar in 1964 when the Beatles invaded the USA. I borrowed an old folk guitar from a friend, but when my Uncle Jerry put his old Silvertone electric guitar in my hands, the blues jumped right out of me directly into those strings! I bought up every blues album I could find. Every night I would play my guitar with Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Mike Bloomfield and many other blues greats alone in my bedroom. I played my blues on that old guitar, along with those records “till the sun done come up”.

In 1966, I teamed up with my best friend Susie, who was my voice and my thunderous rhythm guitarist. For the next ten years we played in rock, r & b and soul bands. We didn’t get to play much blues back then, it just wasn’t too popular. Fed up with the lounge band circuit, we fired the band and formed the blues duo “Pearl”. We became an instant hit! We were even on the same billboard with Mr. Albert King in the summer of 1975. On the last night of our performance, Mr. King asked me to join his band. But I got cold feet when I looked at his big tour bus in the parking lot, and I was just too timid to hop on board. Mad at myself for “throwing away my golden ring,” I stopped playing my guitar soon after, and tucked it under my bed for 30 long years. I hid my sacred blues albums in my closet. I never looked back.

In the year 2000, Susie and I made a promise to each other that we would make a comeback together at age 50 and hit the blues clubs with a storm. Unfortunately she could not keep her promise, as I lost my best friend in 2003 after a courageous battle with cancer. I was fortunate to beat the disease in 1999. During our last visit together Susie made me promise that I would come back for both of us this time. When I told her that I couldn't get back on stage without her, she whispered in my ear “close your eyes and play, just play – and I’ll be with you always.”

So here I am. I’m a little older and a little slower these days, but I’ve always felt the blues way down deep in my soul. I’ve always played it from my heart – and that hasn’t changed. The only thing that has changed is that life is now on my terms. When you get a second chance, you dance to the beat of your own music. And besides, I’ve done paid my dues.