Lonnie Johnson

Alonzo 'Lonnie' Johnson was one of the most technically accomplished and influential guitarists of the twentieth century, a virtuoso whose single-string soloing technique helped lay the groundwork for both jazz and blues guitar as we know them. Born in New Orleans, he won a blues contest sponsored by Okeh Records in 1925 and went on to record prolifically throughout the late 1920s and 1930s, producing duets with Eddie Lang (the first recorded Black-white guitar collaborations), accompaniments for Bessie Smith and Victoria Spivey, and sophisticated solo recordings that demonstrated a harmonic knowledge far beyond most of his contemporaries. His 1948 hit 'Tomorrow Night' crossed over to the pop charts. His single-string approach directly influenced Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, and essentially the entire modern tradition of lead guitar playing. After years of obscurity working as a janitor in Philadelphia, he was rediscovered during the folk revival.