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.
Men
Lonnie Johnson Lyrics
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Workin' man you better wake up, you've been asleep too long
Nothin' but these pimps and gigolos, that's goin' 'round breakin' up your home
You go home sometime and there's no supper, your wife is even cross with you
You go home sometime and find no supper, your wife is even cross with you
It's just some no-good rat showin' her the place, where she don't need a man like you
I've got some friends, supposed to be every good man in town
I've got some friends, supposed to be every good man in town
Now some of these married women's so dumb, they don't even know the night from dawn
Some of these married women's so dumb, they don't even know the night from dawn
But put them chasin' some other woman's man, they got more brains than anybody in town
Now some of these married women's so wild, their husbands they can't even understand
Some of these married women's so wild, their husbands can't even understand
All they think about, is chasin' some other woman's man
Now a good woman will say sometime, that every man is just the same
A good woman will say sometime, that every man is just the same
But men when we look into it, these home-wreckers is just to blame
Sometime we give a social party, to make 'em happy as we can
Sometime we give a social party, to make 'em happy as we can
There will be some no-good woman, to lead your wife to some no-good man
The lyrics to Lonnie Johnson's song "Men" address the issue of infidelity and the negative impact it has on relationships. The song is a call to action for working men, urging them to wake up from their slumber and take control of their lives before it's too late. Johnson warns that there are "nothing but pimps and gigolos" out to break up homes, tempting wives away from their husbands with promises of a better life.
Johnson describes the situation of coming home to find no supper and a cross wife, only to discover that she's been whisked away by "some no-good rat" who wants to show her a life without her husband. He also talks about having friends who are supposed to be good men but who are trying to tear down his "playhouse" or disrupt his happiness. Johnson points out that some women are so desperate for attention that they'll chase after any man, even if it means destroying their own families.
Despite the bleak picture that Johnson paints, he also acknowledges that there are good women out there who understand that home-wreckers are to blame for the breakdown of relationships. He mentions that sometimes men will try to make their wives happy by throwing parties or social events, but there will always be a "no-good woman" lurking around to lead his wife astray.
Overall, Lonnie Johnson's song "Men" is a commentary on the state of relationships in society and a warning to men to be vigilant and protect their homes from those who would seek to destroy them.
Line by Line Meaning
Workin' man you better wake up, you've been asleep too long
You have been spending too much time working, neglecting your home life and personal relationships.
Nothin' but these pimps and gigolos, that's goin' 'round breakin' up your home
There are people who are exploiting others' vulnerabilities and ruining families.
You go home sometime and find no supper, your wife is even cross with you
You come home to an unhappy spouse who is angry and withholding basic needs.
It's just some no-good rat showin' her the place, where she don't need a man like you
Someone who is not good is influencing your spouse to think that she can do better without you.
I've got some friends, supposed to be every good man in town
I have some friends who are supposed to be reliable and trustworthy in my community.
Soon as my back is turned, they're tryin' to tear my playhouse down
However, they turn on me as soon as I am not around and attempt to ruin my social status.
Some of these married women's so dumb, they don't even know the night from dawn
Some wives are naive and ignorant, unable to discern right from wrong.
But put them chasin' some other woman's man, they got more brains than anybody in town
However, they become crafty and intelligent when they pursue other women's husbands.
Some of these married women's so wild, their husbands they can't even understand
Some wives are unmanageable and their husbands are unable to comprehend their behavior.
All they think about, is chasin' some other woman's man
Their only ambition is to engage in extramarital relationships with other people's partners.
A good woman will say sometime, that every man is just the same
A virtuous woman may say that all men are equally flawed.
But men when we look into it, these home-wreckers is just to blame
Upon closer examination, the perpetrators of destroying families are responsible for their actions, and not all men.
Sometime we give a social party, to make 'em happy as we can
Sometimes we organize gatherings to make our wives happy.
There will be some no-good woman, to lead your wife to some no-good man
Unfortunately, there always seems to be someone trying to lure a wife into betraying her husband and ruining her family life.
Contributed by Nathaniel G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.