[5] In an April 1999 editorial leader, the Toronto Star remarked that "South Side Chicago fave Johnny Laws... [is] winning plaudits for his seductive, soul-drenched blues.
He played and performed on the South Side of Chicago from the mid-1960s, remaining largely a local cult favorite for decades.
[7] In addition to a regular weekend slot at the Cuddle Inn, Laws was a frequent performer at the annual Chicago Blues Festival,[3][5] including a set in 2000.
[3] His second album, Blues Burnin' in My Soul, was released on Electro-Fi Records in 1999,[3] containing cover versions of Junior Wells's song "Little by Little"; "Steal Away", by Jimmy Hughes; "Honest I Do" and "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby", by Jimmy Reed; and "Sadie", written and originally recorded by Hound Dog Taylor.
[10] The autumn 1999 issue of Juke Blues stated that "Johnny Laws has a smooth, silky voice, at times almost a whisper, then rising into a falsetto, and falling back again into gentle expressiveness... His appeal is in a delivery that seems so deceptively effortless".