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J.B. Ritchie, born October 6, 1952, is an American musician principally in the blues genre, singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and audio engineer. Mr. Ritchie began playing professionally in 1970 and was inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2012. 1.

Early family life:	J.B. Ritchie was born in Chicago, Illinois, attended Wauconda Junior High School in Wauconda, IL and Arlington High School in Arlington Heights, IL. Mr. Ritchie's father, born and raised in Oklahoma, was part Cherokee and part Blackfoot Indian. His mother, Marilyn Louise Anderson of Chicago, IL, traces her ancestry back to the Pilgrims crossing on the Mayflower in 1620. 2.

Mr. Ritchie started playing and purchased his first guitar at age fourteen. He purchased his first bass guitar at age fifteen. Mr. Ritchie started using a guitar slide early on because he liked its unique sound. “Rolling and Tumbling”3. was the first slide tune he learned to play and did so by listening to a vinyl version of Muddy Waters' record album, “After The Rain”.4.

While in high school, Mr. Ritchie met several musicians at a popular local venue called “The Cellar”5. Among the musical luminaries he met there were Howlin' Wolf6. and Muddy Waters. These experiences inspired Mr. Ritchie to pursue a career as a blues musician. 7.

Mr. Ritchie relates that the first time he ever sang in public was on December 27, 1975, when he opened for Ted Nugent 8. at the Aragon Ballroom on Chicago's north side.

In the 1970's, among the several venues that figured prominently in the Chicago blues scene were Alice's Revisited 9. and Eddie Shaw's New 1815 Club. At Alice's Revisited Mr Ritchie met many musical artists including Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Otis Rush, Luthor Allison, Jimmie Dawkins and Fenton Robinson. At Eddie Shaw's New 1815 Club, 1815 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, Mr. Ritchie sometimes spent time with Andrew “Blueblood” McMann and Eddie Taylor and ocassionally played with Howlin' Wolf and Hubert Sumlin. 10.

In 1997, Mr. Ritchie made the album “Power Blues” with Marty Binder on drums and Frank Bandy on bass. “Power Blues” was recorded at the Rainbow Bridge Recording Studio in Libertyville, IL where Mr. Ritchie worked as a sound engineer from 1983 until the business closed in 2014. Mr. Ritchie performed on, produced and engineered “Power Blues”. 11.

In 1999 Mr. Ritchie performed at the Chicago Blues Festival. 12

In 2003, Mr Ritchie contributed the use of his song, “Nervous Breakdown”, to a fund raising project of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties (IL). 13.

Mr. Ritchie has opened for and/or played with many artists over the years, such as: Ted Nugent at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Leon Russell at Haymakers in Chicago, John Lee Hooker at Headliners in Madison, WI and has performed on stage with Buddy Guy a number of times. Mr. Ritchie has also opened for or performed with: The Ozark Mountain Dare Devils, The Kingsmen, Pat Travers, Lonnie Mack, Junior Wells, David Johanson (aka Buster Poindexter), Buddy Miles, Tinsley Ellis, Coco Montoya, Koko Taylor, Steppenwolf, Tommy Holland (formerly of Steppenwolf), Pine Top Perkins, Willie “Big Eyed” Smith, Willie Dixon, Eddie Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Son Seals, Luther Allison, Brother John Kattke, Mike Wheeler, Toronzo Cannon, Barrelhouse Chuck, Kim Simmons, Savoy Brown Band, AC Reid and Homesick Jones.

Mr. Ritchie relates that on the night of July 27, 1995, he was driving home from a performance in a state of intoxication on Interstate I-290 late at night when his vehicle ran out of gas. After retrieving a gas can from the vehicle's trunk, he proceeded to walk along I-290 looking for a gas station. At some point while Mr. Ritchie was walking along I-290, a man driving a white Cadillac automobile pulled up and told Mr Ritchie to get in. The man was impecably attired in a beautiful suit and spoke “like a member of the mafia”. The Cadillac proceeded to the first exit ramp, exited the Interstate and deposited Mr. Ritchie in a nearby gas station. The driver instructed Mr. Ritchie to fill his gas can and that, after he took care of a few things he had to do, he would be back to give Mr. Ritchie a ride back to his car. Mr. Ritchie filled the gas can and called a friend, asking that she come pick him up. While Mr. Ritchie was the phone with his friend, the mysterious man in the Cadillac returned and gave Mr. Ritchie a ride back to his car on the Interstate.

During the ride from the gas station back to Mr. Ritchie's car, the driver of the Cadillac related to Mr. Ritchie information of a highly personal nature concerning Mr. Ritchie's life and activities of which a stranger, without access to Mr. Ritchie's most intimate thoughts and involvements, would not have knowledge. Mr. Ritchie proceeded to pour the gas into his car's tank and start the vehicle. Mr. Ritchie looked up and the Cadillac was gone.

Mr. Ritchie explains this as a mystical experience containing the message that he should stop using intoxicating substances. Mr. Ritchie has used no intoxicating substances since and has been substance-free from July 27, 1995 to the present.

Discography:

Power Blues

Original tunes: Nervous Breakdown You Don't Gotta

1. 2. Id. 3. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (or "Roll and Tumble Blues") was a great Delta blues classic first recorded by American singer/guitarist Hambone Willie Newbern in March, 1929 on OK 8679. Charlie Patton (“Down The Dirt Road Blues” in June, 1929 on Paramount 12854) created a similar piece. It has been interpreted by hundreds of artists of the Delta and of Chicago, including Muddy Waters. See Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Rollin' and Tumblin'". Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 468. ISBN 1-55728-252-8. 4. “After The Rain” released May 12, 1969 by Cadet LPS 320, Studio Album by Muddy Waters. 5. http://www.45worlds.com/live/venue/the-cellar-arlington-heights retrieved 1-9-2016 6. Mr. Chester Burnett was better known by his stage name “Howlin' Wolf”. 7. See footnote 1. above. 8. http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f145/ted-nugent-1975-12-27-chicago-il-fm-flac-163992.html retrieved 1-9-2016 9. Alice's Revisited was a popular juice bar and musical venue in Chicago located at 948, 950 W. Wrightwood, Chicago, IL. See: Club 950 Lucky Number, 950 W. Wrightwood Avenue, (2600 North, 1000 West), Chicago, IL 60614, RIP December, 2000. http://www.chibarproject.com/Memoriam/Club950/Club950.htm Copyright © 2000 – 2010 Chicago Bar Project, a division of Innovaxis, Inc. 1300 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, IL, 60657. retrieved 9-21-2015 10. See footnote 1. above. 11. Tear Drop Records.com/index4.php  Retrieved January 7, 2016. 12. Chicagoreader.com Arts & Culture “Blues Festival” May 27, 1999. Retrieved January 8, 2016. 13. “Blues For Kid's Sake” Audio CD (November 20, 2003)  BBBS Music