Junior Kimbrough died on the morning of Jan. 17 in Holy Spring, MS after suffering a stroke at his sisters house. He was 67. Though his health conditions were not quite well in the recent days, his death was apparently irrelavant to his sickness,and came as a surprise to many of us blues fans.

Junior was born on July 28, 1930 in Hudsonville, MS. Though he didn't have many opportunities to make a record, he has always been a respected musician around his hometown in Holly Springs. He owned a juke joint where many of the muscians including himself and R.L. Burniside jammed from time to time. Junior's first recording was "Tramp" which was released from Philwood label in 1968. It wasn't until 1991 however, that the majority of people became aware of his presence. That year, the documentary film "Deep Blues" by Robert Palmer featured Kimbrough and in 1992, he released his first full-length album "All Night Long" from Fat Possum Records. He released two more from the label. The last album was "Most Things Haven't Worked Out" (1997).

His blues was mostly one-chord based. It sounded like a jam that had no end, but there certainly was a strong energy coming out of it. His style was very unique and inimitable. He will surely be missed.
（Masahiro Sumori, Jan. 31, 1998）