Lonnie Johnson

• Born: February 8, 1889
• Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana
• Died: June 18, 1970
• Place of death: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

American blues and jazz singer, songwriter, and guitarist

While his voice had the smooth delivery that sold millions of records, it was his innovations for the guitar—especially promoting the solo-guitar lead melodic line—that ensured Johnson’s place in music history.

Member of Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five; Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom Five; Blind Willie Dunn and His Gin Bottle Four

The Life

Born in Orleans Parish in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a family of musical performers, Alonzo Johnson was encouraged to learn the family trade at a young age, first attempting the violin and later the guitar. In 1917 he began a two-year tour of England as part of a musical revue. When he returned, he discovered that his entire family, save one brother, had died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. Moving to St. Louis, Missouri, with his surviving sibling, Johnson began to concentrate upon his guitar technique, and in 1925 he won a talent contest sponsored by the Okeh recording company by singing a blues tune. As a blues singer for Okeh Records, he recorded more than 130 titles, more than any other black male musician of the era.

Despite his renown as a blues singer, his instrumental abilities did not go unnoticed, and from 1927 to 1929 he was invited to record with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. While the simple blues performers of the late 1920’s were largely dismissed by the musically well-tutored jazz musicians, Johnson’s advanced guitar technique won him featured moments in the studio recordings of two of the most respected names in jazz. He recorded another exceptional series of works with white guitarist Eddie Lang, the mixed-race sessions in 1928 and 1929 compelling Lang to adopt the pseudonym Blind Willie Dunn. In addition, Okeh recognized the guitar talents of Johnson, and he was recruited as the label’s house accompanist, appearing on a considerable number of other blues singers’ recordings.

By the mid-1930’s, during the Great Depression, the market for his records had declined, and Johnson moved to Chicago, finding steel mill work and playing only after hours. In 1937 he returned to recording, for Decca and Bluebird, and, after World War II, for King Records. By the early 1950’s he was again forgotten, and when a blues enthusiast went to search for him in 1959, Johnson was found working as a janitor in a Philadelphia hotel. Once again he was brought back into the public limelight, in time to enjoy success from the American folk-blues boom of the 1960’s. Moving to Toronto in 1965, he was struck by a car four years later, and in 1970 he died from his injuries.

The Music

Johnson had the skill and musicality to be a jazz guitarist, but the record label that launched his career recognized him as a blues singer, and his recordings sold in the millions. Nevertheless, his innovations for the guitar greatly influenced the guitarists of the 1930’s, such as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian, and, through them, rock-music lead guitarists from the 1950’s until today. Using an acoustic guitar, Johnson forged a style that, once adopted by electric guitarists, would come to dominate popular music in the last third of the twentieth century.

“6/88 Glide.”Recorded October 31, 1927, this was one of a few guitar instrumentals that Johnson was allowed to record. Played against a piano accompaniment, this piece is regarded by many as the first recorded single-string guitar solo. The tune features a tasty lead melody, interspersed with elegant improvisations, often using Johnson’s distinctive dotted-rhythm playing style. This recording demonstrates that Johnson’s musical horizons far exceeded the standard blues fare for which he was famous.

“Hotter than That.”Recorded December 10, 1927, with Armstrong and His Hot Five, this is a hot, up-tempo tune, opening with Armstrong’s statement of the melody and a pair of choruses of trumpet improvisation. Two choruses of Johnny Dodds on nimble clarinet, accompanied by piano, follow, then Armstrong and Johnson take over, with Johnson playing elaborate lead and chordal guitar under verses of Armstrong singing scat, ending with Armstrong singing scat phrases and Johnson echoing them on guitar. Trombone and trumpet solos conclude the recording, but Johnson gets the last statement.

“Have to Change Keys to Play These Blues.”Recorded on November 17, 1928, this is one of the legendary duets with Lang (playing as Blind Willie Dunn). Two of the most accomplished jazz guitarists of the day give a performance notable for its sophistication and richness. The need to “change keys,” as demanded in the title, refers to the added chordal progressions in the basic blues changes. Through most of the piece, Johnson plays solo lead guitar lines as Lang performs a chord-based rag-style foundation. For one chorus, the two switch roles, just to demonstrate their versatility.

“Another Night to Cry.”A 1963 videorecording of Johnson performing this piece exists, showing how little the decades (during which he had worked at strenuous nonmusical jobs) had affected his abilities. The piece is a conventional blues song, sung with Johnson’s customary pleasant voice. The guitar work is also up to Johnson’s high standards, principally consisting of lead guitar lines resembling what B. B. King and T-Bone Walker spent the 1950’s attempting to perfect.

Musical Legacy

In the late 1920’s, Johnson was possibly the most popular blues singer in America. During the American blues revival of the 1960’s, however, Johnson’s urbane, smooth delivery did not appeal to younger fans searching for simpler and rougher country blues artists. As a guitarist, however, Johnson developed a single-note lead style that inspired many guitarists who followed.

Bibliography

Barlow, William. Looking Up at Down: The Emergence of Blues Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989. This book contains a section on St. Louis blues guitarists, with Johnson as the foremost example. Several lyrics transcriptions of Johnson’s songs are included.

Johnson, Lonnie, and Lenny Carlson. Away Down the Alley: The Great Blues Guitar of Lonnie Johnson. Pacific, Mo.: Mel Bay, 1993. This music book offers transcriptions of Johnson’s beloved songs in score form, as well as guitar tabulature.

Oliver, Paul. The Story of the Blues. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1997. This work contains a brief but interesting retelling of the time Johnson was hired to accompany singer Alger “Texas” Alexander for a recording session.

Welding, Pete, and Toby Byron, eds. Bluesland: Portraits of Twelve Major American Blues Masters. New York: Dutton, 1991. Volume includes an excellent biography of Johnson, written by Chris Albertson, the fan who rediscovered him in 1959. Much of the material concentrates on Johnson’s career after that year.

Principal Recordings

albums:Lonesome Road, 1958; Blues and Ballads, 1960 (with Elmer Snowden); Blues, Ballads, and Jumpin’ Jazz, Vol. 2, 1960 (with Snowden); Blues by Lonnie Johnson, 1960; Losing Game, 1960; Idle Hours, 1961 (with Victoria Spivey); Another Night to Cry, 1962; Stompin’ at the Penny, 1965.

singles (solo): “Baby You Don’t Know My Mind,” 1926; “Lonesome Jail Blues,” 1926; “6/88 Glide,” 1927; “Blue Ghost Blues,” 1927; “Low Land Moan,” 1927; “Careless Love,” 1928; “Have to Change Keys to Play These Blues,” 1928 (with Blind Willie Dunn); “Two Tone Stomp,” 1928 (with Dunn); “Wrong Woman Blues,” 1928; “Blue Room,” 1929 (with Dunn); “Guitar Blues,” 1929 (with Dunn); “Hot Fingers,” 1929 (with Dunn); “Deep Sea Blues,” 1930; “I Got the Best Jelly Roll in Town,” 1930; “Just a Roaming Man,” 1931; “Cat You Been Messin’ Aroun’,” 1932; “Flood Water Blues,” 1937; “Hard Times Ain’t Gone No Where,” 1937; “Devil’s Got the Blues,” 1938; “Nothing but a Rat,” 1939; “Be Careful,” 1940; “Get Yourself Together,” 1940; “Chicago Blues,” 1941; “My Love Is Down,” 1941; “She Ain’t Right,” 1941; “Lonesome Road,” 1942; “Rambler’s Blues,” 1942; “When You Feel Low Down,” 1942.

singles (with Blind Willie Dunn and His Gin Bottle Four): “A Handful of Riffs,” 1929; “Blue Blood Blues,” 1929; “Blue Guitars,” 1929; “Bull Frog Moan,” 1929; “Jet Black Blues,” 1929.

singles (with Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five): “Heebie Jeebies,” 1926; “Muskrat Ramble,” 1926; “You Made Me Love You,” 1926; “Hotter than That,” 1927; “Savoy Blues,” 1927; “Skip the Gutter,” 1928; “Squeeze Me,” 1928.

singles (with Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom Five): “Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya,” 1928; “No One Else but You,” 1928; “St. James Infirmary,” 1928; “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby,” 1929.