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Johnny Burgin grew up in the South and went to University of Chicago with the intention of becoming a writer.   When a fellow DJ at the college radio station took him out to a West Side ghetto club to hear the blues singer Tail Dragger, it was a conversion moment.  The blues came to life for Johnny and he fell headfirst into the vibrant Chicago blues scene.  Choosing the blues clubs over the library, Johnny eagerly absorbed the lessons from the blues masters who practiced their craft nightly.  By persistence and practice, Johnny gained a spot in Tail Dragger’s band, and started gigging and recording with  traditional blues veterans like Sam Lay, Billy Boy Arnold, and Pinetop Perkins.  Johnny’s dream was to be good enough to play in Europe, record his own CD, and to book his own gigs every weekend.  Johnny started a Monday night residency at The Smoke Daddy in Wicker Park, featuring vocalist Jimmy Burns.  The band featured other future blues notables who were also at beginning of their careers, such as Kenny Smith on drums and Martin Lang on harp, and they created quite a buzz.  Before long, they were packed the club every Monday with a younger, hip crowd, as well as blues veterans stopping by to sit in such as Dave Meyers, Jesse Fortune, Barkin’ Bill, etc.  The residency’s success led directly to a record deal with Delmark, which in turn led to lots of bookings in the Midwest and the first of several European tours.