Lonnie Johnson's early recordings are the first guitar recordings that display a single-note soloing style with use of string bending and vibrato. While it cannot be proven that this contains the influence of earlier players who did not record, it is the origin of Blues and Rock solo guitar. Johnson's influence is obvious in Django Reinhardt, T-Bone Walker and virtually all electric blues guitar players.
[citation needed] Raised in a family of musicians, Johnson studied violin and guitar as a child, but concentrated on the latter throughout his professional career. A 1917 tour to England with a revue may have saved his life, for he returned to New Orleans in 1919 to find that most of his family had died in the 1918 influenza epidemic.
In the early 1920s, Johnson worked with the orchestras of Charlie Creath and Fate Marable on riverboats, but he made St. Louis his home in 1925. There he entered and won an Okeh Records blues contest that resulted in his making a series of memorable recordings for the label between 1925 and 1932, including guitar duets with Eddie Lang and vocal duets with Victoria Spivey. In the 1920s, Johnson also made guest appearances on records by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, the Duke Ellington orchestra, and The Chocolate Dandies, playing 12-string guitar solos in an extraordinary, pioneering single-string style that greatly influenced such future jazz guitarists as Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, and gave the instrument new meaning as a jazz voice.
Lonnie Johnson's career was a rollercoaster ride that sometimes took him away from music. In between great musical accomplishments, he found it necessary to take menial jobs that ranged from working in a steel foundry to mopping floors as a janitor. He was working at Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Hotel in 1959 when WHAT-FM disc jockey Chris Albertson happened upon him. Albertson succeeded in securing for Johnson a Chicago engagement at the Playboy Club, which launched yet another comeback. Johnson subsequently performed with Duke Ellington and his orchestra and with an all-star folk concert, both at Town Hall, New York City.
He also toured Europe and recorded several albums for the Prestige Bluesville label, some with Elmer Snowden, and one with his Okeh vocal partner, Victoria Spivey. To his great regret, Johnson was always tagged as a blues artist, and he found it difficult to be regarded as anything else. "I had done some singing by then," he explained when asked why he entered the Okeh contest, "but I still didn't take it as seriously as my guitar playing, and I guess I would have done anything to get recorded--it just happened to be a blues contest, so I sang the blues."
Johnson died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 16, 1970 of complications resulting from a 1969 auto accident. He was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame in 1997.
One of Elvis Presley's earliest recordings was Johnson's blues ballad, "Tomorrow Night", which was also recorded by LaVern Baker
Bob Dylan wrote about the performing method he learned from Johnson in Chronicles, Vol. 1. Dylan thinks Robert Johnson had learned a lot from Lonnie.
Bow Legged Baby
Lonnie Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yes, my baby ‘s so fine and mella, bow legged from her hips on down.
And the way she throws them hips when she walks, she'll make a rabbit hug a hound.
Sometimes she makes me so made, man, I wanna walk out the door.
Yes, sometimes she makes me so made, man, I wanna walk out the door.
And when I think about a how she throws them fine hips around, huh – Jack I just can't go.
She ‘s something.
Yes, one evening we went out in the park, just to take a walk.
Yes, one evenin' we went out in a park, just to take a walk.
Yes, and a man sittin' down and spied them hips, yes, she made that deaf man talk.
She ‘s something.
She ‘s got big legs … ha, ha … wears her dress above her knees.
Yes, she ‘s got those big bow legs, she wears her dress just above her knees.
A police was so busy watchin' my baby's hips, he drove the car right into a tree.
In Lonnie Johnson's song "Bow Legged Baby," the lyrics depict a man expressing admiration for his partner who is bow-legged from her hips down. He describes her as fine, mellow, and mesmerizingly attractive. When she walks, her hip movements are so captivating that they could even make a rabbit hug a hound, symbolizing the irresistible allure and charm she possesses.
However, there are moments when she infuriates him to the point where he wants to leave. Despite his frustration, he finds himself unable to resist her when he contemplates how she effortlessly throws her hips around. The song implies that even though their relationship may have its challenges, her captivating presence makes it difficult for him to walk away.
The lyrics also mention a park outing where the man and his partner are simply taking a walk. During this time, a man who was previously sitting down is moved to speak by observing her alluring hip movements. This further emphasizes the magnetic effect she has on those around her.
Line by Line Meaning
Yes, my baby ‘s so fine and mella, bow legged from her hips on down.
Indeed, my beloved is exquisitely attractive and relaxed, with legs that curve outward from her hips to her feet.
And the way she throws them hips when she walks, she'll make a rabbit hug a hound.
The manner in which she sways her hips while walking is so mesmerizing that it could bring even the most unlikely of creatures, like a rabbit and a hound, into a harmonious embrace.
Sometimes she makes me so mad, man, I wanna walk out the door.
Occasionally, she infuriates me to such an extent that I find myself compelled to leave.
And when I think about how she throws them fine hips around, huh – Jack I just can't go.
However, whenever I reflect upon the enticing motion of her hips, it becomes clear that I simply cannot bring myself to depart.
Yes, one evening we went out in the park, just to take a walk.
Indeed, on a particular evening, we ventured to the park with the intention of strolling.
Yes, and a man sitting down and spied them hips, yes, she made that deaf man talk.
During our outing, an individual who was seated witnessed her hips, and astonishingly, it prompted a deaf man to utter words.
She ‘s got big legs … ha, ha … wears her dress above her knees.
She possesses noticeably substantial legs and amusingly chooses to adorn herself with dresses that expose them above her knees.
A police was so busy watching my baby's hips, he drove the car right into a tree.
A law enforcement officer was so preoccupied with observing the movements of my beloved's hips that their distraction caused them to crash their vehicle into a tree.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bianca Bagnolet
une vraie merveille trop trop jolie💖💖💖
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Rhythmeres - Elaine / Bow Legged Baby - Brunswick 55083 -1958