The Imperial Seven

from House of Broken Hearts by E. Mark Windle

The Imperial Seven, also billed as The Imperials, played consistently at the New Era Club, owned by Theodore Acklen, and was fronted by blues and soul guitarist Johnny Jones.

Johnny Jones performed in this house band prior to his involvement with Billy Cox and Jimi Hendrix. When Jones first met them as William Cox and Jimmy Hendrix they were members of the King Kasuals, who were a house band at another "Uncle Teddy" club, the Del Morocco. It was during this time that Hendrix would gather advice and performance tips from Jones. Later, Johnny Jones became a member of their group which was rebilled as Johnny Jones and the King Casuals after the departure of Cox and Hendrix.

According to an obituary: Nashville blues and rock lovers alike have long told the story of a fabled blues-guitar showdown between Hendrix and Jones at Club Baron in the '60s. Jones earned enough applause to be acknowledged as the winner, but he told The Tennessean in 2003 that he felt Hendrix had outplayed him. Still, Jones also acknowledged his influence on Hendrix. "For two years, (Hendrix) was under my wing. I had what he had to have. I had that lowdown smell of Mississippi in mine," Jones said of his own guitar style.

Imperials drummer Freeman Brown played with Hendrix while he was in Nashville. “There used to be a theater called the Ritz Theater down on Jefferson Street, it was there for the longest. We went to a show one day and Jimi carried his guitar in a shopping bag. He always kept his guitar with him. And every time he would just play, just play, just play; it was kind of like having a little baby to him.”

E. Mark Windle writes: "By 1961 Jones had settled in Nashville and was already working as a session musician. As a performer, he was a member of The Imperial Seven (a.k.a. The Imperials), another band who were resident at a different Teddy Acklen club on Jefferson Street. This was where Johnny would first meet with Hendrix. After a number of personnel changes within The Imperials and The King Kasuals, Jones, Hendrix and Cox came together as a performing group in their own right; supporting visiting acts in the area on the chitlin’ circuit and undertaking session work. During this time, vocalist Jimmy Church also joined the fold. Church had some performing and recording experience behind him already.

Johnny Jones would later become a regular performer on the R&B TV show Night Train, hosted by Noble Blackwell, as well as the WLAC-TV musical show The !!!! Beat, hosted by Hoss Allen, alongside Clarence "Gatemouth" Bass, among others.

Recordings

Evidence of at least two records exist credited as The Imperial Seven and the other as Johnny Jones and the Imperial Seven:

7" Single sticker Label

Athens 207-B. A 1964 Nashville obscurity whose feline slink and cool instrumental arrangement perfectly match its title. Composer credits go to local MC Red McMillan and, more significantly, guitarist Johnny Jones. Jones was the leader of the Imperial Seven, a busy club and studio group that provided support on many of the sides originating in Nashville’s vital, if neglected, postwar R&B scene. I’ve never seen this side in any R&B discographies, but “Midnight Tom”’s roster theoretically included future Jimi Hendrix sideman Billy Cox (bass), future Fame Gang players Harrison Calloway (trumpet), Aaron Varnell (tenor sax) and Freeman Brown (drums) as well as Larry Lee (rhythm guitar) and either Skippy Brooks or Ray Valentine (organ). Jones’s group the King Casuals would also record for the Brunswick label in the late ‘60s.

Hermitage Records (catalog # H-45-813): "Really" which covered two sides of the single, providing Side A with "Really (Part 1)" and Side B as "Really (Part 2)".