The Iconic Maxwell Street Blues Bus

John W. Johnson (1937–2021) loved the Lord and began preaching the gospel in his early years. He is known to many as Minister and/or Rev. Johnson. He also loved the Blues. In the 1970s and afterwards, he sold Blues records and tapes on Sundays. He took his Blues Bus, a converted school bus painted blue, down to 14th Street at the Old Maxwell Street Market in Chicago. His big, bright blue bus became a well-known part of the bustling Sunday market, which stretched along little Maxwell Street to east and west of Halsted, on Chicago’s near west side for many decades.

Maxwell Street is known as the birthplace of Chicago Blues. Rev. Johnson and his bus added to the scene. He hooked up big speakers that sat on the trunk of the bus, blasting the music down the street. Customers came to him from all over the city. They would just name a song and Rev. Johnson would find the cassette or CD for them.

After the market’s forced removal in the mid-1990s, he operated and owned a Blues records store on Halsted St., just 25 feet north of Maxwell Street. His store, called Heritage Blues Bus Music, was sandwiched between Original Jim’s and Maxwell Street Express, purveyors of the famous polish hot dogs.

Elder Johnson knew many Blues musicians and did not rate Blues music on a plane different from Gospel. He appreciated both and saw the common roots of both.

Maxwell Street

John Johnson was a mentor and close friend of Alligator Blues recording star Toronzo Cannon.

“Rev. Johnson was very encouraging to my journey in the Blues,” said Cannon. “Every time I would visit him we would have at least an hour or more of conversation about the Blues. One of the most memorable things he done for me was to give me a Luther Allison CD called Where Have You Been? Live From Montreux.”

“He told me to listen to this music and hear what he’s doing. I did just that and it opened up my playing immensely. He saw something in me and my conversations with him that I didn’t see. I’ll never forget his kindness to me as a young man just discovering the Blues. He’s The Chicago Blues Man!”