Jimmy Burns performs at Buddy Guy's Legends.
“If you’re planning on rushing in and doing it, don’t mess with it,” says the blues singer-guitarist and former pro barbecue chef. “You’ve gotta be willing to spend time. Whether you’re cookin’ or playin’ the blues, make your own creation.”
He’s not just blowing hot air. Burns, 65, has lived in Chicago since he was 12 and now resides in the Austin neighborhood; he grew up on the Mississippi Delta, regarded as the birthplace of the blues. In Chicago, he owned now-closed West Side spot Uncle Mickey’s Barbecue from 1989 until a few years ago, and in the mid-’90s, he had a regular gig playing at Wicker Park’s Smoke Daddy. Now he’s a Chicago blues staple who frequently hosts jam sessions at Buddy Guy’s Legends—which, perhaps not coincidentally, also cranks out well-regarded ’cue.
We asked him about his love for both barbecue and the blues.
Which feels better: delivering a killer guitar solo or eating a full slab of ribs?
As my satisfaction goes, I would say that they’re about equal. Because I love each one equally … I love barbecue, and I love the music. With me it’s not just about playin’ music. I must enjoy what I’m doing. It’s just like food. I must enjoy what I eat. If I don’t enjoy it I don’t want to do it, whether it’s food or music. It’s gotta be the real deal.
Can you eat and play at the same time?
Oh, no, absolutely not! [Laughs] But people seem to like that barbecue and blues thing, and I think it’s a good concept. It’s a winning combination.
What do you like about it?
Well, it attracts people, and obviously that’s good for me as a blues musician because we need a venue to play. And when the food is good, they’ll be there. Smoke Daddy, I haven’t had any lately, but they had real good barbecue. And I like to say that I think that I was a part of putting them on the map, ’cause when I first went down there they didn’t have a lot goin’.
What did you learn there about the combo of blues and barbecue?
Some people were just barbecue lovers and they came out early to enjoy the food. And then you had others that came out for the food and the music. So the crowd that you had earlier, before you got started, they didn’t always stay. But the ones that came in later for the food and the music—that was your crowd.
If you could only have one for the rest of your life, blues or barbecue, what would you choose?
[Laughs] I think I would have to go with the blues. Because the blues has been a part of me for so long. The blues was a part of me before barbecue. You have to remember, where I’m from you didn’t see a lot of people barbecuing down in the country on the plantation. I didn’t really see a lot of barbecue until I got here in Chicago.
Who would win a barbecue-eating contest between you and Buddy Guy?
Would I eat more? [Laughs] Here’s the thing. I can’t eat a lot at one time. You ever go down to Manny’s (1141 S. Jefferson St.)? If you go in there and order a bowl of soup and a corned beef sandwich, I mean, you wouldn’t be able to finish either one of them. It’s just too much food. But yet some people, they can eat that much. But I can’t eat it. I can eat a half a sandwich.
So he could take you down.
He probably could. But I don’t know how much he eats … like I said, I don’t eat that much.
So what gives you the blues?
I don’t quite know how to answer that because even though I play what they call blues music, I can’t actually tell you what the blues is. I’ve heard so many definitions. I don’t know if you mean in a good sense because I don’t really have any bad blues ... I’m not an easy person to rouse. I don’t get mad that often. Even though I play the blues, I’m not sad. That’s probably why my music is happy music. I’m not singing about “My baby left me,” ’cause mine hasn’t.
Jimmy’s picks
Fave place for barbecue: Lem’s Bar-B-Que-House
Fave place for blues: Buddy Guy’s Legends (he says he’s not biased)
Ideal barbecue menu: potato salad, collard greens, baked beans, cole slaw, corn on the cob, pork ribs
Ideal blues menu ( five fave musicians): Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bobby “Blue” Bland, B.B. King
Venues played: Buddy Guy’s, Smoke Daddy, Rosa’s, Kingston Mines, Blue Chicago (both locations), House of Blues, Harlem Avenue Lounge, B.L.U.E.S.
What he tells people at jam sessions: “I do let ’em know that I don’t want ’em to be too loud or hold a song too long. Not that they listen.”
Matt Pais is the Metromix music and movies producer.
mpais@tribune.com
