Lyrics | Artists | Lonnie Johnson

Lonnie Johnson

Lonnie Johnson played a key role not only in the history of the blues, but also in that of the guitar. He was one of the very first, perhaps the very first, to conceive of the guitar as a solo instrument played note by note with a plectrum. He contributed to making the guitar as noble an instrument as the violin or the piano. In fact, it was as a violinist and pianist that the young Lonnie Johnson entertained the taverns and brothels of the Storyville district of New Orleans. The influence of New Orleans jazz will always be felt in his music. Sent to the European front during the...