Johnny Iguana facts for kids

Brian Berkowitz, known professionally as Johnny Iguana, is an American Chicago blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has recorded music with many famous blues artists. These include Junior Wells, Carey Bell, Koko Taylor, and Lil' Ed Williams. He has also played with his own bands, like Oh My God and The Claudettes.

In 2020, Johnny Iguana released his first solo blues album. It was called Chicago Spectacular! and came out on Delmark Records.

Johnny Iguana's Early Life

Johnny Iguana was born in New Jersey, United States. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That's where he grew up.

He started taking piano lessons with his mom. His mom eventually stopped, but Johnny kept going. By the time he was 16, he was good enough to play piano and synthesizer in local bands. These bands played blues and new wave music. His interest in blues music grew when his uncle gave him albums by Junior Wells and Jimmy Smith.

Moving to Chicago

When Johnny was in his late teens, he often played in bars in Philadelphia. He often played songs by Junior Wells. At 22, he moved to New York City for college. He also worked writing book summaries and practiced his organ playing.

When he was 23, Johnny met a contact at a blues jam session. This led him to meet his hero, Junior Wells. After an audition, Wells offered Johnny a job as his piano player. In 1994, Johnny moved to Chicago, Illinois. He toured with Junior Wells for three years. During this time, he was known as Johnny Iguana. He played on two live albums with Wells. One of them, Junior Wells: Live at Buddy Guy's Legends, was even nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997.

Johnny Iguana's Bands and Projects

After leaving Junior Wells' band, Johnny Iguana started his own trio called Stevie Lizard & His All Reptile Orchestra.

Oh My God

In 1999, Johnny became a founding member of Oh My God. This was a rock band that lasted almost ten years and released six albums. Johnny also played with other bands for short periods. He even toured the East Coast with blues legend Otis Rush. He played at a festival in New Jersey with other famous musicians like Carey Bell and Jimmie Vaughan.

The Claudettes

In late 2010, Johnny Iguana formed the Claudettes. This band plays a mix of "piano boogie, punk blues, and cabaret" rock and roll. The band's members have changed over time, but they have released four albums. Their album High Times in the Dark was released during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Johnny Iguana wrote all the songs on this album.

Chicago Blues: A Living History

During the same time, Johnny Iguana played piano for the Chicago Blues: A Living History group. This group included many important blues musicians. Some of them were Billy Boy Arnold, Billy Branch, and John Primer. Sometimes, famous guests like Buddy Guy and James Cotton would join them. In 2018, Johnny Iguana also played on an album called Chicago Plays the Stones.

Solo Album: Chicago Spectacular!

In 2020, Johnny Iguana brought together many Chicago blues veterans for his first solo album. He wrote four of the songs himself and played eight classic blues songs. Critics said his album found a good balance between lively piano R&B and traditional blues.

Chicago Spectacular! featured many great musicians. These included Lil' Ed Williams, John Primer, and Billy Boy Arnold. B.B. King's nephew, Phillip-Michael Scales, sang on one of the songs.

Career Highlights

Johnny Iguana has had many memorable moments in his career. He once played on the main stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2012 with Chicago Blues: A Living History. Bob Dylan also played at that same event! He also remembers playing at the Taste of Chicago for 500,000 people with Junior Wells.

In 2021, Johnny Iguana was nominated for a Blues Music Award. He was nominated in the 'Instrumentalist - Piano (Pinetop Perkins Piano Player)' category.

Discography

Solo albums

• Chicago Spectacular!

Track listing

Selected other recent releases

Johnny Iguana has also played on many other albums with different artists. For more details on his work with the band Oh My God, you can visit their page: Oh My God.

Here are some other albums he has played on: