| Part of Series | Blues & Beyond |
| Length | 59:00 |
| Licensor | WXPN |
| Producer(s) | Jonny Meister |
| Formats | Commentary, Soft Feature, Weekly Program |
| Topics | African American, Entertainment, Music |
| Produced | May 5, 2008 |
| Added to PRX | May 7, 2008 |
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Conversation with Aaron Levinson, producer of "Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson," with music both from Johnson and the tribute album which is by Blues Anatomy. Program also includes music from Eric Gales, Ursula Rucker, and Lyambiko, and a song in memory of Dr. Albert Hofmann.
Authoritative, Informational, Sound Rich
English
Lonnie Johnson certainly deserves a tribute album, and "Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson" by Blues Anatomy is a worthy tribute. Producer Aaron Levinson joins us in the first part of this show to talk about Johnson and the tribute album. Lonnie Johnson was the first artist to do a guitar solo on a commercially released record in 1925. In those days, the guitar was hardly the "King of Instruments" that it is today. He also broke the "color line" years before Benny Goodman and Charlie Christian famously joined forced in music, by working with guitarist Eddie Lang. For those recordings, Lang took on the name "Blind Willie Dunn." The music from "Rediscovering Lonnie Johnson" includes the guitar playing of Jef Lee Johnson (no relation) and a guest vocalist appearance by Geoff Muldaur on one of Lonnie's biggest hits. This program also features a hard-hitting song from Eric Gales, from his new album "The Story Of My Life" and the music of Ursula Rucker and Lyambiko-- plus a song in memory of Dr. Albert Hofmann!
