Lonnie Johnson: Four Classic Albums (Blues By Lonnie Johnson / Idle Hours / Blues And Ballads / Losing Game) (2CD)

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AVID Roots continues with its Four Classic Blues album series with a re-mastered 2CD release by Lonnie Johnson, complete with original artwork and liner notes.
“Blues By Lonnie Johnson”; “Idle Hours”; “Blues And Ballads” and “Losing Game”
Born into a large musical family in New Orleans, Lonnie Johnson was always much more than just the bluesman that he became known as during his long and intermittent career. He began learning to play music from a very young age tackling and mastering the piano, guitar, violin and mandolin and quickly finding his place in the family musical unit. By his early teens Lonnie was primarily playing guitar and violin in his father’s band and by 1917 he joined a revue that toured England! During these early years he was probably playing as much jazz as blues but after winning a blues competition in 1925 he was signed to the Okeh Records label and this pretty much sealed his fate as a blues player. Musicians Lonnie played with include Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Roosevelt Sykes, James P Johnson and Eddie Lang. Musicians Lonnie influenced include Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, T Bone Walker and Bob Dylan who met him during the blues revival years in the 1960’s and our own Lonnie Donegan who even nicked his name! However as a pioneer of the electric guitar and the electrified violin the influence of Lonnie Johnson across the whole spectrum of music is incalculable. His career echoed that of many of the classic bluesman of the early twentieth century in that he achieved much success in the early days only to be forgotten in the later days of the 1940’s and 1950’s having to make his living with whatever menial jobs he could get. Then miraculously he was discovered again during the blues boom of the 1960’s from which our four selections come from.

CD1
1-12: ‘Blues By Lonnie Johnson’
1. Don’t Ever Love
2. No Love For Sale
3. There’s No Love
4. I Don’t Hurt Anymore
5. She Devil
6. One Sided Love Affair
7. Big Leg Woman
8. There Must Be A Way
9. She’s Drunk Again
10. Blues ‘Round My Door
11. You Don’t Move Me
12. You Will Need Me
13-24: ‘Idle Hours’
13. Darling I Miss You So
14. Long Time Blues
15. You Are My Life
16. Oh Yes Baby
17. Please Baby
18. Leave Me Or Love Me
19. Idle Hours
20. You Have No Love In Your Heart
21. Good Luck Darlin’
22. No More Cryin’
23. I Got The Blues So Bad
24. End It All

CD2
1-10: ‘Blues And Ballads’
1. Haunted House
2. Memories Of You
3. Blues For Chris
4. I Found A Dream
5. St. Louis Blues
6. I’ll Get Along Somehow
7. Savoy Blues
8. Back Water Blues
9. Elmer’s Blues
10. Jelly Roll Baker
11-22: ‘Losing Game’
11. New Orleans Blues
12. My Little Kitten Susie
13. Evil Woman
14. What A Difference A Day Makes
15. Moaning Blues
16. Summertime
17. Lines In My Face
18. Losing Game
19. New Year’s Blues
20. Slow And Easy
21. Four Walls And Me
22. You Won’t Let Me Go