OKEH 78 Lonnie Johnson & Blind Willie Dunn E+
£
105
$
138
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Description
US ORIGINAL OKEH "Electric" ISSUE in REALLY EXCELLENT CONDITION
of "BLIND WILLIE DUNN'S GIN BOTTLE FOUR" playing Guitar Blues / Guitar Blues Featuring Lonnie Johnson
INCREDIBLY RARE in this condition!!!
Johnson was a pioneering Blues and Jazz guitarist and banjoist. He started playing in cafes in New Orleans and in 1917 he traveled in Europe, playing in revues and briefly with Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra. When he returned home to New Orleans in 1918 he discovered that his entire family had been killed by a flu epidemic except for one brother. He and his surviving brother, James "Steady Roll" Johnson moved to St. Louis in 1920 where Lonnie played with Charlie Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs and with Fate Marable in their Mississippi riverboat bands. In 1925 Johnson married Blues singer Mary Johnson and won a Blues contest sponsored by the Okeh record company. Part of the prize was a recording deal with the company. Throughout the rest of the 1920s he recorded with a variety of bands and musicians, including Eddie Lang, Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Blind Willie Dunn was a pseudonym that guitarist Eddie Lang usually used when he teamed up with Lonnie Johnson. Even the songwriter's credit on these records was listed as Johnson - Dunn instead of listing Lang's name. It is said that the pseudonym came from a newspaper vendor that Lang was friends with, but some Jazz historians doubt that claim and suggest that the name was a commercial gesture, designed to cash in on the popularity of African-American Blues guitarists like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Blake. The Gin Bottle Four sessions brought together some interesting mixed-race groups that spawned a few funky, feel-good tunes. It is also one King Oliver's better performances as a sideman, rather than as a band leader
US recorded May 7/8 1929 OKEH electric 8711A SIDE : BLUE GUITARS (Johnson- Dunn)
B SIDE: GUITAR BLUES (Johnson - Dunn)
I AM NOT SURE THAT THIS HAS EVER COME UP ON eBay! so don't miss out!!
FANTASTIC EARLY GUITAR BLUES !
On 29-Oct-05 at 08:29:50 BST, seller added the following information: Pay instantly with your debit or credit card through PayPal.
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