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.
Don't be no fool
Lonnie Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you trust your woman, then why you trail her night and day?
You will drive her to do something wrong, when that kid ain't made up that way.
The more you watch a woman, the more you suffer alive.
You're forever beating and doggin', you dogs her both day and night.
Don't scold your woman, when she ain't done nothin' wrong.
You beat and dogs her, when you know you've done wrong yo'self.
Someday she'll find it out, and that will drive her to somebody else.
If you trust your wife, then take her out more often than you do.
Don't you know she wants to spend some happy hours sometimes with you?
And if you don't there will be somebody will do the things that you fail to do.
Life is so sweet, when you both is happy night and day.
Life is so sweet, when you both is happy night and day.
But life can be a livin' hell when you listen to everything people ‘s got to say.
Lonnie Johnson's song "Don't Be No Fool" is a cautionary tale about the danger of mistrust and jealousy in romantic relationships. Johnson questions the actions of the song's protagonist, who claims to trust his partner but follows her every move, ultimately driving her away. By criticizing this behavior, Johnson suggests that true trust means giving your partner space and treating them with respect.
The repetition of the question "if you trust your woman, then why you trail her night and day?" drives home the theme of the song. Johnson argues that this behavior will only push a woman away, leading her to seek affection elsewhere. This is reinforced by the line "Someday she'll find it out, and that will drive her to somebody else." The singer's paranoia is not only futile but actively harmful to the relationship. Johnson contrasts this behavior with the idea that there are good men out there who will treat women with respect: "But still there's always a man waiting, to treat a good woman right."
Overall, "Don't Be No Fool" is a powerful message about the importance of trust and respect in relationships. By warning against jealousy and possessiveness, Johnson encourages listeners to build healthy relationships based on mutual trust and understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
If you trust your woman, then why you trail her night and day?
Questioning the point of continuously monitoring someone you claim to trust.
You will drive her to do something wrong, when that kid ain't made up that way.
Conveying the idea that obsessive behavior could cause someone to act out of character.
The more you watch a woman, the more you suffer alive.
Stating that being overly possessive or jealous can have negative effects on the person experiencing those feelings.
You're forever beating and doggin', you dogs her both day and night.
Addressing the issue of emotional and physical abuse in a relationship.
But still there's always a man waiting, to treat a good woman right.
Acknowledging that there are people out there who would treat someone well and thus advising against taking a partner for granted.
Don't scold your woman, when she ain't done nothin' wrong.
Suggesting that it's important not to take out one's own frustrations on a partner who hasn't done anything to deserve it.
You beat and dogs her, when you know you've done wrong yo'self.
Pointing out the hypocrisy of mistreating a partner while knowing that one has faults of their own.
Someday she'll find it out, and that will drive her to somebody else.
Asserting the likelihood that someone mistreated in a relationship will eventually leave for someone who treats them better.
If you trust your wife, then take her out more often than you do.
Encouraging spending quality time with one's partner to strengthen the relationship.
Don't you know she wants to spend some happy hours sometimes with you?
Highlighting the importance of recognizing and meeting a partner's emotional needs.
And if you don't there will be somebody will do the things that you fail to do.
Warning that neglecting a partner's needs can lead them to seek fulfillment elsewhere.
Life is so sweet, when you both is happy night and day.
Expressing the joy and fulfillment that comes with being in a happy, healthy relationship.
But life can be a livin' hell when you listen to everything people ‘s got to say.
Advising against allowing others' opinions or gossip to negatively impact one's relationship.
Contributed by Elijah S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.