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
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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
Tracklist:
1. Why Women Go Wrong - 2:56
2. Nothing But A Rat - 3:00
3. Jersey Belle Blues - 3:00
4. The Loveless Blues - 3:15
5. I'm Just Dumb - 3:01
6. Get Yourself Together - 3:13
7. Crowing Rooster Blues - 2:40
8. That's Love - 2:59
9. Somebody's Got To Go - 3:08
10. Lazy Woman Blues - 3:04
11. Chicago Blues - 2:49
12. I Did All I Could - 3:05
13. In Love Again - 2:56
14. The Last Call - 3:18
15. Rambler's Blues - 2:56
16. Baby Remember Me - 3:02
17. He's A Jelly Roll Baker - 3:19
18. When You Feel Low Down - 2:57
19. The Victim Of Love - 3:14
20. Watch Shorty - 3:06
Creditts:
Lonnie Johnson - Guitar, Vocals
Blind John Davis, Joshua Altheimer, Lil Armstrong - Piano
Andrew Harris, Alfred Elkins, Ransom Knowling – Bass
1992
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