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April 1941. "Entertainers at Negro tavern. South Side Chicago." On the left is Lonnie Johnson, noted bluesman and pioneering jazz guitarist. Who are the others? Medium format safety negative by Russell Lee. View full size.
Great to see such a sharp photo of Lonnie from that period. Too bad he abandoned the acoustic guitar—not to mention the 12-string.
for the "Handsome Rakes" category. Yowza!
I have one of his old 78's. "Tomorrow Night". Beautiful song. Smooth bluesman. I believe he could have been the forerunner of guys like Nat Cole, Charles Brown, and even T-bone Walker.
This is most likely the trio formed by Lonnie Johnson in Chicago in the late 1930s, with Andrew Harris on the string bass and Dan Dixon on rhythm guitar at far right. Harris also played baritone sax and Dixon supplied vocals along with Johnson. The trio recorded four songs on acetate at the Boulevard Lounge in 1940.
If you had that old Martin on the right today in that condition you could retire.
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