Memphis-born, Mississippi-based spiritual blues scion Rev. John Wilkins has died. The son of 1920s’ blues icon Robert Wilkins, the younger Wilkins had been enjoying a late-in-life career resurgence, which began with the release of his 2015 solo album, “You Can’t Hurry God.”
Wilkins’ official Facebook page confirmed he died Tuesday morning. He was 76.
The post noted that Wilkins “loved God and his family and his congregation whether in church or on tour, and most of all he loved playing music with his daughters to the world. His music carries his love and spirit forward to us all. May he rest in love and power and peace.”
Wilkins had recently survived a two-month battle with COVID-19. He’d spent five weeks in Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, where he lay unconscious for nearly half that time, in ICU and on a ventilator. Though Wilkins had recovered from the virus, he had continued to deal with a number of related aftereffects.
His new album, “Trouble,” was released by the local Goner Records label just last month.
Wilkins’ father, Robert Wilkins, was a Hernando-born singer and guitarist who was a key figure in the Memphis blues scene of the 1920s, along with fellow notables like Furry Lewis, the Memphis Jug Band, and Memphis Minnie.
By the early 1940s, when John Wilkins was born, the elder Wilkins had left secular music behind to focus on gospel and ministry. But his early sides would be rediscovered, as would Robert Wilkins himself, who became a beloved figure during the blues revival of the 1960s, giving him a second career.
As a younger man, John Wilkins would follow his father into music, working as a sideman for the “Mother of Beale Street,” Ma Rainey II, and soul singer O.V. Wright (Wilkins would play on Wright’s classic 1965 single “You’re Gonna Make Me Cry”).
Like his father, John Wilkins would eventually focus on spiritual music, performing with the M&N Gospel Singers, and by the mid-1980s, had taken on a role as preacher at Hunter’s Chapel in Como, Mississippi.
After 30 years at Hunter Chapel, Wilkins was coaxed into the studio, releasing “You Can’t Hurry God” for the Fat Possum-affiliated Big Legal Mess label. Wilkins belated solo debut — he was already into his 70s when the record was released — became a critically acclaimed LP and found Wilkins touring all over the world to support the project.
Earlier this fall, Wilkins released his second solo effort, “Trouble,” for Goner. The album was recorded at the famed Royal Studios in South Memphis — the historic home of Hi Records and just a stone’s throw from where Wilkins grew up.
Wilkins is survived by his daughters Tangela Longstreet, Joyce Jones and Tawana Cunningham.