On Friday, November 11, Alligator Records will release JJ Grey & Mofro's 2007 label debut, Country Ghetto, on vinyl LP for the very first time. 2022 marks the 15th anniversary of Country Ghetto, the best-selling album of Grey's career. The LP will feature all original music and artwork from the 2007 CD. Country Ghetto was the first of five albums Grey cut for Alligator.
Tastemaker UK music magazine MOJO raved, "Abundantly talented singer, guitarist, harmonica man, gritty-voiced JJ Grey delivers tuneful originals, funky good times, sinuous ballads, gospel and chunks of Southern rock spiced with moments of pure jazz …a pleasure."
2007 was a watershed year for Grey. The release of Country Ghetto brought widespread critical and popular acclaim, as the album garnered piles of positive press with reviews and features running everywhere from The New York Times and USA Today to The New Yorker and Paste magazines. Commercial and public radio embraced Grey as well, with songs from Country Ghetto receiving regular rotation on hundreds of stations across the country and around the world.
JJ Grey & Mofro played over 120 dates in 2007 to support Country Ghetto, building their audience one mind-blowing show at a time, headlining clubs and concert halls and performing at scores of festivals across the United States and Europe. Grey and his band have gigged constantly since first forming in North Florida in the late 1990s, and they continue to deliver over 100 shows a year. The New Yorker declared, "JJ Grey and his band Mofro stir up a Southern storm of soulful grooves that is more welcome than a cool downpour on a steamy summer day. They deliver a steady stream of Southern R&B with a rock edge. Simmering, funky and propulsive."
