LONNIE JOHNSON, STEFAN GROSSMAN'S EARLY MASTERS OF AMERICAN BLUES GUITAR. CD TABLATURE
Stefan Grossman's Early Masters of American Blues Guitar: Lonnie Johnson
Lonnie Johnson / transcr. Stefan Grossman
ORIGINAL RECORDINGS
SERIES: Stefan Grossman’s Early Masters of American Blues Guitar
CATEGORY: Guitar Method or Supplement
FORMAT: Book & CD
The Early Masters of American Blues series provides the unique opportunity to study the true roots of modern blues. Stefan Grossman, noted roots-blues guitarist and musicologist, has compiled this fascinating collection of 16 songs, transcribed exactly as performed by legendary blues master Lonnie Johnson. In addition to Stefan's expert transcriptions, the book includes a CD containing the original recordings of Lonnie Johnson so you can hear the music as he performed it.
One of the most influential blues artists of the 20th century, Lonnie Johnson began his 50-year music career in the early 1920s, and continued to perform and record until his passing in 1970. Recording both as a soloist and with legends like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Eddie Lang, Lonnie Johnson's influence can still be heard today, from the work of blues guitar greats like T-Bone Walker and B.B. King, to a whole new generation of blues players.
INTRODUCTION
by Stefan Grossman
I grew up in New York City. During the 1960s I had the
unique opportunity to see and study with a host of great
blues guitar players: Mississippi John Hurt, Son House,
Skip James, Fred McDowell, Mance Lipscomb, Bukka
White, and especially Rev. Gary Davis.
I spent several years traveling up to the Bronx every
weekend to learn guitar from Rev. Davis. He had a vast
repertoire of songs and guitar styles and a memory that
was as sharp as a razor. He would talk about recordings
and performers of country bluesmen from the 1920s and
1930s. Usually he was disdainful of their talents-Blind
Lemon Jefferson could play the guitar but he cried when
he sang; Blind Boy Fuller couldn't play the guitar and
needed lessons; using a bottleneck was cheating. But
Rev. Davis had his own guitar heros-Blind Blake had a
sportin' right hand, Willie Walker was a guitar giant and
onnie Johnson was the king of the fretboard.
s a teenager, I absorbed each word and note of Rev.
Davis as the gospel. I bought blues albums, searched for
old 78s, and went to clubs to see blues guitarists. Gerdes
olk City was a center for concerts in New York City and
one week I discovered that Lonnie Johnson would be
playing there. With great eagerness I went down to see
he "king of fretboard."
onnie was playing a cheap electric guitar and using
a plectrum. His blues were a combination of late 1940s
&B tunes and folk blues played in a very diluted
ashion. His singing had a cocktail lounge edge. All in all
I was disappointed. I saw and heard nothing that I would
ant to play.
uring the next few years, I saw Lonnie Johnson in
arious blues festivals and club appearances. I was
ever impressed but in the back of my mind I had Rev.
avis' unequivacable recommendation that Lonnie was
one of the best that had ever played the blues.
Nhat a fool a teenager can be! If only one of my record
ollector friends would have played me some of Lonnie's
great instrumental tracks from the 1920s, I might have
een converted on the spot! As was, I didn't really
delve into Johnson's playing until 20 years later. During
e 1960s, Lonnie's brand of blues was out of fashion
with both record collectors and blues enthusiasts. The
Delta blues was high on everyone's mind and guitar
playing fingers. The steady flow of melodic riffs and
runs that Lonnie recorded in the 1920s/1930s were too
sophisticated and jazz oriented for blues guitarists and
record collectors.
Many of the fingerstyle blues guitarists of the 1960s
eventually got interested in single-line improvisation and
electric blues styles. This usually started with studying
B.B. King and then Albert King and Freddie King. The
road travelled backwards in time from players of the
'60s to '50s (T-Bone Walker) to '40s (Charlie Christian)
and eventually ended in the '30s and '20s with Lonnie
Johnson. The roots of modern electric blues and rock
guitar can be found in the playing of Lonnie Johnson.
Lonnie was sadly overlooked in his later years by blues
and guitar playing historians. He was never interviewed
in depth about either his life or his guitar techniques.
What a crime; especially as his guitar playing has so
many mysteries.
When listening to Lonnie's early great recordings, one
is struck with how spectacular, complex and innovative
they are. What is very unusual is that the tonality and
key is the same for so many tunes. He might have his
guitar tuned low, or play it with a capo, or use a twelve
string instead of a six string but the chord shapes are
always based around the key of D. Document Records
(Eipeldauerstr. 23/43/5, A-1220 Vienna, Austria) have
released a 7-volume CD set Lonnie Johnson-The
Complete Recorded Works (each CD containing over 20
titles) and within those 140 plus tracks, you will only find
3 or 4 tunes in a key other than D! Yet, Lonnie's recording
output in the 1940s and 1950s has little in common
with blues in D, and he in fact rarely played in that key
or style during these years. I personally CCllHlUlcile
another guitarist whose style and technique changed so
dramatically, especially after it was so widely acclaime
and imitated. This is a very strange phenomenon that
only Lonnie could have helped us to understand.
There are a host of great instrumentals and blues
accompaniments that Lonnie recorded in the '20s and
'30s. This book presents a collection of 16 instrumental
EDITED AND TRANSCRIBED BY STEfAN GROSSMAN
The Early Masters of American Blues Guitar series provides the unique
opportunity to study the true roots of modern blues. Stefan Grossman, noted
roots-blues guitarist and musicologist. has compiled this fascinating
collection of 16 early blues guitar classics as performed by the legendary
Lonnie Johnson. In addition to Stefan's expert transcriptions, the book
includes a CD containing the original recordings so you can experience
the music as it was originally performed.
Titles:
Mr. Johnson's Blues
Love Story Blues
To Do This, You Got to Know How
Blues In G
Away Down In the Alley Blues
Sweet Woman You Can't Go Wrong
I'm So Tired of Living All Alone
Bitin' Flea Blues
Life Saver Blues
Blue Ghost Blues
Uncle Ned Don't Use Your Head
Cat You Been Messin' Aroun'
There Is No Justice
Go Back to Your No Good Man
Stomping 'Em Along Slow
Woke Up With the Blues In My Fingers
Each book in the Earlv Masters series contains the original artist's performances, transferred
from vintage 78s. These original recordings are a piece of musical history, and the only way to
hear and appreciate the powerful feel and impact of these pivotal, early music giants.
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