Long John Hunter’s Benefits

It’s a musical cliche that you can’t play the blues without paying some dues, but Texas bluesman Long John Hunter spent the first 60 years of his life living it.

Now he’s reaping the rewards. After decades of toiling in obscurity, and at an age when most Americans are looking forward eagerly to retirement, Hunter is shifting into high gear with his music.

The 66-year-old singer and guitarist was born in Louisiana and knocked around Texas-Mexico border towns and bars for years. He played for 13 years straight in one Juarez bar.

“I was young, working every day, and that was all I needed,” said Hunter, who will be backed by his four-piece Walking Catfish band tonight at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach and Saturday at Hop City Blues & Brew. “I didn’t really have any direction. Still, it was a learning experience, one that taught me how to deal with a variety of people.”

Even without the perks of recording, touring and financial well-being, Hunter said, playing music was “better than pickin’ cotton and plowin’ [fields] with them mules all day long.”

“I was born and raised on a farm, and I told myself one time, ‘If I can pick 400 pounds of cotton . . . I oughta be good at pickin’ somethin’. So I decided to pick a guitar instead.”

The turnaround began in 1992, when Hunter recorded and released his first album, “Ride With Me.” The album, which came out on the now-defunct Spindletop label, will be reissued this summer by Alligator Records, which also released his latest, “Swingin’ From the Rafters.”

“Ride With Me” not only expanded Hunter’s following beyond Texas but also landed the Abilene resident the first of three nominations for a W.C. Handy Award, the blues world’s equivalent of the Grammys.

Hunter’s big break came with the 1996 release of “Border Town Legend,” a spirited album that got heavy radio airplay on blues stations and led to high-profile, national gigs at the Chicago Blues Festival, Austin’s South by Southwest festival and the Long Beach Blues Festival.

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Hunter recently got his third Handy nomination for best contemporary blues album for “Swingin’ From the Rafters.” Still, he’s not particularly hopeful about picking up his first win this year.

“The spotlight will be on the sympathy vote for Luther [Allison, the Chicago-style blues guitarist who died from lung cancer at age 57 in August]. That’s not to say his winning it wouldn’t be well-deserved,” he said, “but that sentiment traditionally plays a part in it.

“I remember being a little down after I lost [in 1994] for ‘Ride With Me.’ Then I had a talk with Isaac Hayes, and he said he was nominated for 10 awards before he ever won anything,” Hunter said. “It made me realize that only a handful of us even get nominated, so that in itself is quite an accomplishment.”

For now, Hunter is delighted with the response he’s receiving as he tours the U.S. and Europe, where American blues musicians traditionally are adored.

“It’s just heaven over there . . . man, they love it,” said Hunter, who will head back to Europe on April 21 for a four-week tour.

“They’re serious about the blues, yes sir. You’ve got a built-in full house over there. I don’t rightly understand it, but it’s so good, I don’t even try to understand it.”

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Some audiences might also have trouble understanding why Hunter’s brand of West Texas blues, R&B; and rock ‘n’ roll--powered by economical yet refined guitar chops and balancing fiery, single-note runs, funky shuffles and heartfelt ballads--sounds so happy.

“They tag me as a blues player--and I can play the blues as low-down as it gets--but I’m not into playing sad music all that much,” said Hunter, whose style recalls fellow Texan Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.

“It’s hard enough gettin’ through life without listening to songs that bring you down,” he said. “You can forget your troubles for a while if you hear stuff that’ll make you smile.”

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He added with a chuckle, “I’m kind of a cheap medicine, really.”

That medicine works both ways, apparently. Although he’s well into Social Security age, Hunter has no plans to slow his work schedule. He said he feels healthy and energized, and that it’s no accident.

“You don’t have to be high or drunk or smokin’ cigarettes,” said Hunter, whose beverages of choice include water and soft drinks. “This business is not about getting drunk and falling down all over the place. You’ve got to take care of yourself and focus on making music a real part of your life, y’know what I mean?”

* Long John Hunter plays tonight at the Blue Cafe, 210 Promenade, Long Beach. 9 p.m. $7. (562) 983-7111. Also Saturday at Hop City Blues & Brew, 1939 S. State College Ave., Anaheim. 9:30 p.m. $8. (714) 978-3700.