Catching up with Baton Rouge’s longest-standing blues room owner

Lloyd “Teddy” Johnson was born and raised in the Zachary shotgun house that is now the well-storied Teddy’s Juke Joint. Johnson worked on creating the juke joint for two years before its official opening in 1979, and it’s now one of the last establishments of its kind in the Baton Rouge area. The low-lit dance hall is decorated with knick-knacks from Johnson’s past, boasting everything from his kiddie tricycle to well-worn guitars and signed photos of his other bluesy friends. In commemoration of blues clubs past, we asked Johnson about his experience with the music of Baton Rouge.

When did you know that the blues was going to be your way of life?

I was born into the blues. There was no getting away from the blues when and where I was born.

What blues artists inspired you the most?

There’s too many greats to choose from—Slim [Harpo], the whole Neal family, Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush, Henry Gray.

What was your favorite blues club, besides Teddy’s?

It’s hard to pick a favorite when I’ve been spinning records all over. I’ve been to Katy, [Texas], to Chicago, to Orlando and everywhere in between, and there’s a favorite part about every place … Just about all of them are gone now, though.

What can you say about the slow decline of blues culture in Baton Rouge? About what time did the blues start becoming less popular?

It all happened around the time of Civil Rights. Everything closed down because there were no more “black” establishments. And throughout the change, the black people got lost. There became less and less of a black man’s culture, and with that, there was less and less of the blues man’s culture. Integration stopped the blues culture dead in its tracks, and so places like this [Teddy’s] don’t really exist anymore.

What do you think Baton Rouge could do better to help keep the blues alive? 

People need to tell the blues man’s stories. In Mississippi, they teach kids the blues in schools. We could do that here. We could have a radio station for the blues … just talk about the culture more.

What separates the blues from other genres?

The blues man is dedicated—he’ll play till he dies.