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.
I'm Nuts About That Gal
Lonnie Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The way that gal can love, change any mans mind.
Im nuts about that gal, ah, Im nuts about that gal.
I dont know what sheve done to me; boys, Im nuts about that gal.
Now she bake good jellyroll, she bakes it nice and hot.
It never fails, to gets the spot.
You know Im nuts about my gal, ah, boys Im nuts about my gal.
I cant help myself, Im just nuts about that gal.
If I could just see my baby, I would be willing to die.
Im nuts about that gal, ah, Im nuts about that gal.
If she ever leave me Ill go crazy, cause Im nuts about that gal.
[guitar solo]
Now my gal is built, long and tall.
Lord, when she starts to lovin, I cant help from the fall.
Im nuts about that gal, ah, boys, Im nuts about that gal.
Ive got a rummy in the bughouse, you know Im goin nuts about that gal.
She likes her music soft, when the lights are low.
When she starts to kiss me, dos me good down in my toes.
You know Im nuts about that gal, ah, boys, Im nuts about that gal.
I dont know what shes done, but Im really nuts about that gal.
When I met my gal, she was dumb as dumb could be.
But I believe to my soul, she put that thing on me.
Im nuts about my gal, ah, yes, Im nuts about my gal.
But shes meaner than hell, but sweeter than the sugar that goes in my tea.
In Lonnie Johnson's song "I'm Nuts About That Gal," the singer expresses his love for a woman who may not have traditional markers of beauty or status. He sings that she "ain't good lookin'" and "don't dress fine," but what sets her apart is the way she loves. Johnson's narrator goes on to describe various ways in which his girlfriend pleases him, such as making a delicious jellyroll and preferring soft music when they are together. He declares that he is "nuts about that gal," and even goes so far as to say that if he were facing death, seeing her one more time would make it all worthwhile.
The song is a celebration of the power of love and attraction in the face of social conventions and expectations. Johnson's narrator is not swayed by what others might think of his significant other; instead, he revels in the way she makes him feel. The song also references the physical sensations of being in love, such as the electric feeling in one's toes when kissed. Overall, "I'm Nuts About That Gal" is a charming and catchy ode to one man's infatuation with his beloved.
Line by Line Meaning
Now she aint good lookin, she dont dress fine.
Although she may not be conventionally attractive or dressed in fancy clothes, her love is enough to change any man's mind.
Im nuts about that gal, ah, Im nuts about that gal.
I am completely, hopelessly in love with this woman.
I dont know what sheve done to me; boys, Im nuts about that gal.
I don't know what magic or spell she has cast on me, but I am completely in love with her.
Now she bake good jellyroll, she bakes it nice and hot.
She is a skilled baker, especially at making delicious jellyrolls that are served piping-hot.
It never fails, to gets the spot.
Her jellyrolls are always a hit and manage to satisfy even the most discerning sweet tooth.
If I was sentenced to be hung, and this aint no lie.
I would rather face the death penalty than be separated from my beloved.
If I could just see my baby, I would be willing to die.
The mere sight of my love would make my life complete, so much so that I'd be content to die afterwards.
Now my gal is built, long and tall.
She is physically tall and has an impressive figure.
Lord, when she starts to lovin, I cant help from the fall.
Her love is so powerful that I become overwhelmed and unable to resist her charms.
Ive got a rummy in the bughouse, you know Im goin nuts about that gal.
I am so obsessed with my love that I'm starting to feel like I belong in a mental institution.
She likes her music soft, when the lights are low.
She prefers gentle, romantic music and dim lighting when it's time for intimacy.
When she starts to kiss me, dos me good down in my toes.
Her kisses are so passionate and satisfying that they awaken every sense in my body.
When I met my gal, she was dumb as dumb could be.
When I first met her, she didn't seem particularly bright or intelligent.
But I believe to my soul, she put that thing on me.
Despite her lack of intellect, there's something about her that I find irresistible and that has captured my heart and soul.
But shes meaner than hell, but sweeter than the sugar that goes in my tea.
She can sometimes be unkind or harsh, but her love and affection far outweigh any negative traits and are as comforting and essential to me as sugar is to tea.
Contributed by Andrew Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@elisabethaxelsson4736
Love it
@joehiggs100
Brilliant, thanks!
@waynemiller3814
Eat your heart out years before Eric Clapton was born......