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.
Mr. Johnson Swing
Lonnie Johnson Lyrics
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I want all you people to listen while my guitar sing.
If you ain't got that rhythm it don't mean a thing.
Sing for me guitar! [spoken words – Lonnie Johnson]
Yes, indeed, yes indeed ... take it Mr. Piano Man! [spoken words – Lonnie Johnson]
Some people thinks I'm dead because I been gone so long.
Some people thinks I'm dead because I been gone so long.
I justa stopped see would you miss me from singin' these lonesome songs.
Yes indeed, it's so good, it's so good. [spoken words – Lonnie Johnson]
I want all you people to listen while I swing this song.
I want all you people to listen while I swing this song.
If you born with that rhythm honest, you can't never go wrong.
Lonnie Johnson's song "Mr. Johnson Swing" calls on the audience to listen to his guitar as it sings and swing with the rhythm. Lonnie Johnson begins by asking the audience to listen to his guitar sing and emphasizes that it would mean nothing if they did not have the rhythm to appreciate the music. The repetitive chorus, "I want all you people to listen while my guitar sing," demonstrates Johnson's desire to entertain and engage his audience.
Later, Johnson reflects on the idea that some people assume he is dead because he has been gone for so long. He quips that he stopped singing to see if anyone would miss him, and continues with the song. The final verse is a call to action, urging the audience to swing with the rhythm of the song. Johnson asserts that those born with rhythm can never go wrong, emphasizing that the ability to feel the music is essential.
Line by Line Meaning
Want all you people to listen while my guitar sing.
I want everyone to pay attention to the music I'm making with my guitar.
If you ain't got that rhythm it don't mean a thing.
Without proper rhythm, music loses its meaning and feel.
Sing for me guitar!
Lonnie Johnson is requesting his guitar to make beautiful music.
Yes, indeed, yes indeed ... take it Mr. Piano Man!
Lonnie Johnson is excited to perform and gives a shout-out to the piano player to start playing.
Ahh, beat it, beat it, beat it out! Thank you so much, so much.
Lonnie Johnson is enjoying the music and thanks everyone for playing.
Some people thinks I'm dead because I been gone so long.
Lonnie Johnson has been gone for a while, leading some to believe he is no longer alive.
Yes indeed, it's so good, it's so good.
Lonnie Johnson expresses his fondness for the music being played.
I want all you people to listen while I swing this song.
Lonnie Johnson wants everyone to attentively listen and enjoy the music he is playing.
If you born with that rhythm honest, you can't never go wrong.
Having natural rhythm is important for successful music performances.
Writer(s): WILLIAMS, J. MAYO
Contributed by Grayson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.