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.
Playing With The Strings
Lonnie Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yun nga lang kakaiba ang tabas ng dila
‘Pag hawak ko na ang mikropono, lagot
Bawat bobong tanong may pilosopong sagot
Mag-aral ng mabuti, yan ang dapat kong gawin
Kaso nga lang pati masama inaral ko na rin
‘Tsaka di ko man aminin, kung ano ang ayaw kong isulat
Di mo maintindihan pilit mo mang isipin
Ang pahiwatig ng mg titik sa awitin
Malalim humiwa ang lirikong may ngipin
Palaging sariwa, hindi nakakabitin
Bisayang dako, dios ko, simba ko
Bakit ganito lahat gusto maging ako
Ang dami kong pangarap, tutuparin ko ‘to
Tagalog, Bisaya, Ingles, may punto pa rin ako (ano!)
Ano mang sabihin mo, di mo kayang tindihan
Kahit na itodo mo
Kasalanan ko ba na, di mo maintindihan
Ang isang pilosopo
Easy lang, bakit ka masyadong seryoso…
Easy lang, bakit ka masyadong seryoso…
Kahit mag collabo pa kami ng sinasabi mong da best
Ako'y cannibal, pag may bisita kinakain ko yung guest
Kung hindi mo yun nagets, pwes ‘di ka na bagets
Jejemon at putapets, pwede munang umalis
Alis, layas, malinaw ba
Di mo ba naintindihan parang "ni hao ma"
Bumbilya sa ulo ko may ilaw na
Pag pinaliwanag ko pa baka masilaw ka
Halimaw sa mikropono, teka muna pare
Walang sinabi mga letra mo sa akin
Tahimik bawat titik, alpabeto'y wawasakin
Pwedeng daanan ng bapor ang metaphor sa lalim
Tawag sa akin sa amin ay Hari ng Tugma
Ito'y biyaya nga ba galing langit o sumpa
Kasi pag sinabi mong rapper ka, laging may kutya
Anong klase, gift wrapper o wrapper ng lumpia (pero!)
Ano mang sabihin mo, di mo kayang tindihan
Kahit na itodo mo
Kasalanan ko ba na, di mo maintindihan
Ang isang pilosopo
Easy lang, bakit ka masyadong seryoso…
Easy lang, bakit ka masyadong seryoso…
Pero tingnan natin kung mapungay ang kwento mo sa pagong
At ang kumento't mga tanong o argumento na alam mong, alam kong, alam nyong di na bago parang tunay sa di totoo
Sinong binobo nyo nung halalan, o kailan ba, sinong binoto mo
Ako'y pilosopo, para sa likas, daliring turong sinaulo nang mapangatawan
Bagamat matigas ang ulo'y mayrong malambot na pusong habol ang huling halakhak kahit pa pagtawanan
Nangarap ng malayo, may natapos, san nagmula
Umabante pataas na may pagpapakumbaba
Pinagmalaki ko na bago pa maliitin ng mga pangungutya
Lalo na kung galing lamang sa mga walang mukha
Na mahusay sa pag-gamit ng mabangong salita
Pero di balanse ang timbangan ng kanan at kaliwa
Pero baka biglang matulala, alam mo na, nagulat ma eat bulaga
Pag sinimulan ko kayong pakitaan ng mga akala nyo sa akin wala, (wala!)
The song "Playing with the Strings" by Lonnie Johnson is not the focus of this interpretation. The lyrics given are not from the song by Lonnie Johnson, but rather are in Tagalog and appear to be from a rap song. Therefore, it would not be possible to provide an interpretation of the lyrics or any facts about the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Malawak ang isip, matalas ang diwa
I have a broad mind and sharp intellect
Yun nga lang kakaiba ang tabas ng dila
However, my words may be unusual
‘Pag hawak ko na ang mikropono, lagot
When I hold the microphone, watch out
Bawat bobong tanong may pilosopong sagot
Every simple question has a philosophical answer
Mag-aral ng mabuti, yan ang dapat kong gawin
I should study hard
Kaso nga lang pati masama inaral ko na rin
But I also learned bad things
‘Tsaka di ko man aminin, kung ano ang ayaw kong isulat
And I won't admit what I don't want to write
Yun ang ibig kong sabihin
That's what I mean
Di mo maintindihan pilit mo mang isipin
You can't understand it even if you try
Ang pahiwatig ng mg titik sa awitin
The message of the lyrics in the song
Malalim humiwa ang lirikong may ngipin
The lyrics are deep and biting
Palaging sariwa, hindi nakakabitin
Always fresh, never boring
Bisayang dako, dios ko, simba ko
I'm from Bisaya, it's my God and my tribe
Bakit ganito lahat gusto maging ako
Why does everyone want to be like me?
Ang dami kong pangarap, tutuparin ko ‘to
I have so many dreams, I'll make them come true
Tagalog, Bisaya, Ingles, may punto pa rin ako (ano!)
Tagalog, Bisaya, English, I still have a point (you know!)
Ano mang sabihin mo, di mo kayang tindihan
Whatever you say, you can't match it
Kahit na itodo mo
Even if you try harder
Kasalanan ko ba na, di mo maintindihan
Is it my fault that you don't understand
Ang isang pilosopo
A philosopher like me
Easy lang, bakit ka masyadong seryoso…
Take it easy, why are you too serious?
Pero tingnan natin kung mapungay ang kwento mo sa pagong
But let's see if your story can make a turtle's eyes bulge
At ang kumento't mga tanong o argumento na alam mong, alam kong, alam nyong di na bago parang tunay sa di totoo
And the comments, questions or arguments that you know, I know, we know, are not new, like true in the untrue
Sinong binobo nyo nung halalan, o kailan ba, sinong binoto mo
Who did you fool during elections, or when, who did you vote for?
Ako'y pilosopo, para sa likas, daliring turong sinaulo nang mapangatawan
I'm a philosopher, in nature, finger-tapping to embody what's in my mind
Bagamat matigas ang ulo'y mayrong malambot na pusong habol ang huling halakhak kahit pa pagtawanan
Although my head is hard, I have a soft heart chasing the last laugh even if I get laughed at
Nangarap ng malayo, may natapos, san nagmula
I dreamed big, achieved something, where did it come from?
Umabante pataas na may pagpapakumbaba
I moved forward with humility
Pinagmalaki ko na bago pa maliitin ng mga pangungutya
I boasted about it before being belittled by criticism
Lalo na kung galing lamang sa mga walang mukha
Especially if it came from those without faces
Na mahusay sa pag-gamit ng mabangong salita
Who are good at using flowery words
Pero di balanse ang timbangan ng kanan at kaliwa
But the balance of the right and left scale is not there
Pero baka biglang matulala, alam mo na, nagulat ma eat bulaga
But maybe I'll get stunned, you know, surprised like on Eat Bulaga (a TV show)
Pag sinimulan ko kayong pakitaan ng mga akala nyo sa akin wala, (wala!)
If I start showing you all what you thought I don't have (nothing!)
Contributed by Asher A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lang django
Wow! Breathtaking technique and feeling!
Michael Louis
Just amazing! It's all been done and by 1928. Robert Johnson ain't got nothing on Lonnie Johnson.
Sagey Moon Luna Fire
Gorgeous