Lonnie Johnson Blues

Johnson was one of the best of the early acoustic blues guitarists. He possessed a technical proficiency that separated him from his peers, and he was always in high demand as a session guitarist for blues and jazz recordings. Johnson was a fine vocalist as well, and his prodigious chops made him a hot recording property in the twenties.

The place and date of his birth are the subject of some debate, although many believe his birthplace to be New Orleans. It is known for sure that Johnson was raised in New Orleans and later moved to St. Louis in the twenties, where he began recording for Okeh Records. That label would release his first side, “Mr. Johnson’s Blues,” in 1925. Johnson recorded numerous sides for the label, including “Very Lonesome Blues,” “Lonesome Jail Blues,” Five O’Clock Blues,” “Backwater Blues,” and many others.

Johnson lent his nimble guitar skills to Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five recordings in 1927. The next year, Johnson and the white jazz guitarist, Eddie Lang, made some of the first racially integrated jazz recordings. Johnson’s career suffered during the Depression Era of the 1930s when Okeh went bankrupt, and he relocated to Canada. Johnson died in 1970 in Toronto from injuries he had suffered in a car accident.

His work is best experienced through compilation albums:

• Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 1 (1991): Released by Document Records and produced by Johnny Parth, featuring Lonnie Johnson on vocals, acoustic guitar, and violin. Key tracks include "Mr. Johnson's Blues," "Lonesome Jail Blues," and "Very Lonesome Blues."
• Blues in My Fingers (1994): Released by Indigo Records, highlighting his 1928 duets with Eddie Lang (recording as Blind Willie Dunn). Key tracks include "Blues In My Fingers," "Bull Frog Moan," and "A Handful of Riffs."

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