Biography
by Bill Dahl
Blues
guitar simply would not have developed in the manner that it did if not
for the prolific brilliance of Lonnie Johnson. He was there to help
define the instrument's future within the genre and the genre's future
itself at the very beginning, his melodic conception so far advanced
from most of his prewar peers as to inhabit a plane all his own. For
more than 40 years, Johnson played blues, jazz, and ballads his way; he
was a true blues originator whose influence hung heavy on a host of
subsequent blues immortals.
Johnson's extreme versatility
doubtless stemmed in great part from growing up in the musically diverse
Crescent City. Violin caught his ear initially, but he eventually made
the guitar his passion, developing a style so fluid and inexorably
melodic that instrumental backing seemed superfluous. He signed up with
OKeh Records in 1925 and commenced to recording at an astonishing pace
-- between 1925 and 1932, he cut an estimated 130 waxings. The red-hot
duets he recorded with white jazz guitarist Eddie Lang (masquerading as
Blind Willie Dunn) in 1928-1929 were utterly groundbreaking in their
ceaseless invention. Johnson also recorded pioneering jazz efforts in
1927 with no less than Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Duke Ellington's
orchestra.
After enduring the Depression and moving to Chicago,
Johnson came back to recording life with Bluebird for a five-year stint
beginning in 1939. Under the ubiquitous Lester Melrose's supervision,
Johnson picked up right where he left off, selling quite a few copies of
"He's a Jelly Roll Baker" for old Nipper. Johnson went with
Cincinnati-based King Records in 1947 and promptly enjoyed one of the
biggest hits of his uncommonly long career with the mellow ballad
"Tomorrow Night," which topped the R&B charts for seven weeks in
1948. More hits followed posthaste: "Pleasing You (As Long as I Live),"
"So Tired," and "Confused."
Time seemed to have passed Johnson by
during the late '50s. He was toiling as a hotel janitor in Philadelphia
when banjo player Elmer Snowden alerted Chris Albertson to his
whereabouts. That rekindled a major comeback, Johnson cutting a series
of albums for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary during the early '60s and
venturing to Europe under the auspices of Horst Lippmann and Fritz
Rau's American Folk Blues Festival banner in 1963. Finally, in 1969,
Johnson was hit by a car in Toronto and died a year later from the
effects of the accident.
Johnson's influence was massive,
touching everyone from Robert Johnson, whose seminal approach bore
strong resemblance to that of his older namesake, to Elvis Presley and
Jerry Lee Lewis, who each paid heartfelt tribute with versions of
"Tomorrow Night" while at Sun.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lonnie-johnson-mn0000275401/biography
///////
Biografía
por Bill Dahl
La
guitarra de blues simplemente no se habría desarrollado de la manera en
que lo hizo si no fuera por la prolífica brillantez de Lonnie Johnson.
Él ayudó a definir el futuro del instrumento dentro del género y el
propio futuro del género desde el principio, con una concepción melódica
tan avanzada con respecto a la mayoría de sus colegas de antes de la
guerra que habitaba un plano propio. Durante más de 40 años, Johnson
tocó blues, jazz y baladas a su manera; fue un auténtico iniciador del
blues cuya influencia pesó mucho en una multitud de inmortales del blues
posteriores.
Sin duda, la extrema versatilidad de Johnson se
debió en gran parte a su infancia en la musicalmente diversa Crescent
City. Al principio le atrajo el violín, pero acabó convirtiendo la
guitarra en su pasión, desarrollando un estilo tan fluido e
inexorablemente melódico que el acompañamiento instrumental parecía
superfluo. En 1925 firmó un contrato con OKeh Records y comenzó a grabar
a un ritmo asombroso: entre 1925 y 1932, se calcula que grabó 130
discos. Los dúos al rojo vivo que grabó con el guitarrista de jazz
blanco Eddie Lang (disfrazado de Blind Willie Dunn) en 1928-1929 fueron
totalmente innovadores por su incesante invención. Johnson también grabó
trabajos pioneros de jazz en 1927 nada menos que con los Hot Five de
Louis Armstrong y la orquesta de Duke Ellington.
Después de
soportar la Depresión y mudarse a Chicago, Johnson volvió a la vida
discográfica con Bluebird durante un periodo de cinco años a partir de
1939. Bajo la supervisión del omnipresente Lester Melrose, Johnson
continuó justo donde lo había dejado, vendiendo bastantes copias de
"He's a Jelly Roll Baker" para el viejo Nipper. En 1947, Johnson fichó
por King Records, con sede en Cincinnati, y enseguida cosechó uno de los
mayores éxitos de su inusualmente larga carrera con la melosa balada
"Tomorrow Night", que encabezó las listas de R&B durante siete
semanas en 1948. Le siguieron otros éxitos: "Pleasing You (As Long as I
Live)", "So Tired" y "Confused".
El tiempo parecía haber pasado
de largo para Johnson a finales de la década de 1950. Trabajaba como
conserje en un hotel de Filadelfia cuando el intérprete de banjo Elmer
Snowden alertó a Chris Albertson de su paradero. Johnson grabó una serie
de álbumes para la filial Bluesville de Prestige a principios de los 60
y se aventuró a viajar a Europa bajo los auspicios del American Folk
Blues Festival de Horst Lippmann y Fritz Rau en 1963. Finalmente, en
1969, Johnson fue atropellado por un coche en Toronto y murió un año
después a causa de las secuelas del accidente.
La influencia de
Johnson fue enorme y llegó a todo el mundo, desde Robert Johnson, cuyo
enfoque seminal se parecía mucho al de su tocayo mayor, hasta Elvis
Presley y Jerry Lee Lewis, que rindieron un sentido homenaje con
versiones de "Tomorrow Night" mientras estaban en Sun.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lonnie-johnson-mn0000275401/biography
1 - Blue Ghost Blues
2 - I Did All I Could
3 - Bull Frog Moan
4 - What A Real Woman
5 - Ramblers Blues
6 - Get Yourself Together
7 - There Is No Justice
8 - Swing Out Rhythm 9 - Winnie The Wailer
10 - Shes Only A Woman
11 - Blues For Everybody
12 - Hot Fingers
13 - Jersey Belle Blues
14 - In Love Again
15 - Blues In G
16 - Trouble In Mind
17 - Sleepy Water Blues
18 - Love Is The Answer
2005 Prestige Elite - X5 Music Group
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