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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 fathers 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 1960s 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 1940s and 1950s having to make his living with whatever menial jobs he could get. Then miraculously he was discovered again during the blues boom of the 1960s from which our four selections come from.
CD1 1-12: Blues By Lonnie Johnson 1. Dont Ever Love 2. No Love For Sale 3. Theres No Love 4. I Dont Hurt Anymore 5. She Devil 6. One Sided Love Affair 7. Big Leg Woman 8. There Must Be A Way 9. Shes Drunk Again 10. Blues Round My Door 11. You Dont 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. Ill Get Along Somehow 7. Savoy Blues 8. Back Water Blues 9. Elmers 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 Years Blues 20. Slow And Easy 21. Four Walls And Me 22. You Wont Let Me Go
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