Lonnie Johnson - The Complete Folkways Recordings - 1967 (1993)

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Lonnie Johnson - The Complete Folkways Recordings - 1967 (1993)

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Lonnie Johnson Biography: 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 pre-war 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 1928-29 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 subsidary 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.

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Lonnie Johnson - The Complete Folkways Recordings - 1967 (1993)

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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. ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

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Lonnie Johnson - The Complete Folkways Recordings - 1967 (1993)

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Product Description: Fans who think the blues has little more to offer than screaming guitars and over-amplified harmonicas have obviously never heard Lonnie Johnson (1889-1970). A New Orleans native who spent much of his youth in Europe and St. Louis, Johnson saw … Full Descriptionthe blues through a jazz player's eyes, incorporating jazz's complex chording and hip attitude into a genre otherwise noted for its raw, unadorned passion. As a result of his masterful playing and distinctive approach, no lesser (and diverse) greats than B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Charlie Christian, and T-Bone Walker readily and enthusiastically acknowledged Johnson's influence on their playing. "The Complete Folkways Recordings", a 1967 collection of Johnson solo performances, offers a unique opportunity to hear this master outside his usual ensemble setting. On this generous 24-track offering, Johnson works his way through numerous original blues as well as a few well-chosen jazz standards ("Prisoner of Love" and Hoagy Carmichael's "Old Rocking Chair," among several others). Although recorded late in Johnson's life, the blues great's playing and singing show no signs of deterioration. On the contrary, this is the work of a man at the top of his game. A classic.

*Recorded 1967 by Moses Asch in New York
*Originally issued in 1982 as Folkways 3577 and 3578
*Remastered CD released 1993

Personal Comment: Great sound, considering the date of recording.

Review: These records are unique. Johnson plays all of these selections solo on an a very acoustic sounding electric guitar and sings them all. Now and then he talks about the songs. They range from blues to "my mother's eyes" and include a number of great pop ballads from "I'm Confessin" to "What a Difference a Day Makes." This is a master who had been playing and singing for 40 years, yet there is so much personal sentimental and feeling here, so much expression in the guitar playing. You feel like you know the man after you hear this. You feel like you really know these songs anew after you here this album. This is a good album for a thoughtful evening with a good glass of wine, a good friend, and an open mind! ~ Amazon Customer

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Lonnie Johnson - The Complete Folkways Recordings - 1967 (1993)

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Lonnie Johnson - The Complete Folkways Recordings - 1967 (1993)

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