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Johnny B. Gayden was born in Chicago in 1953 and raised on the South side of the city. He began playing bass when he was twelve years old after being influenced by a guitar playing friend. Johnny was soon playing along with the radio listening to some of his favorite artists including: The Beatles, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Vanilla Fudge, The Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. He was self-taught until high school by listening to the various styles of Willie Dixon, Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Jack Bruce and Robert "Kool" Bell.

The first band that Johnny toured with was Son Seals in 1973. He ended up making four cd's with Son, before touring with the Staples Singers. In 1979, Johnny hooked up with legendary Albert Collins - and from that point on, his career was one that most musicians only dream about.

Johnny recorded nine cd's and numerous DVD's with Albert. The band also won a Grammy Award for the Alligator recording "Showdown" with Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland and Robert Cray. Johnny always speaks very highly of The Ice Man. "Albert was a dear friend and mentor," he says reverently, "like a father figure to me more so than a boss. He was someone who could touch you in a way that you could not help but love the man. I learned a lot from Albert".

After Albert's' death in 1993, Johnny did a lot of studio recording for Alligator Records and his career total so far is close to 100 recordings. He has been honored to record with Johnny Winter, Gary Moore, John Primer, Son Seals, A.C. Reed, Junior Wells and KoKo Taylor just to name a few. Johnny is a nine-time W.C. Handy nominee for the Instrumentalist-Bass category, a testament to his longevity as one of the best.

Although most of the recording Johnny has done has been with Blues artists, his taste in music reaches far beyond the Blues. Some of his idols today are Willie Dixon, Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, Jaco Pastorius, Alain Caron, John Patitucci, Chuck Rainey, Flea, Mark King and Stanley Clarke. He states, "I like to listen to any bass player than can lay down a groove."

Johnny currently resides in Indiana not far from his hometown of Chicago. He continues to do studio work and teaches bass to a few dozen students of all ages with skill levels, ranging from beginners to those who just want to learn a few of Johnny's famous lines to impress their friends.While Johnny mostly plays with local bands these days - and just because he still loves to carve a groove - he still enjoys getting together with his old friends from Chicago and rocking the house.

To get the house rocking proper, Johnny uses our WT800 with various combinations of cabinets, including the 410XLT, 210XLT and 210XST. Also a Washburn endorser for several years, he's very proud of his relationship with Eden. "Eden is the best sounding amp I have ever played on," he says. "It has outstanding tone, in a class all by itself. And believe me, in all these years, I've played on quite a few."