Lonnie Youngblood

Last updated
Lonnie Youngblood
Birth nameLonnie Thomas
Born (1941-08-03) August 3, 1941 (age 80)
Augusta, Georgia, United States
Occupation(s)Saxophonist, bandleader
InstrumentsSaxophone
Associated acts Jimi Hendrix

Lonnie Thomas (born August 3, 1941 in Augusta, Georgia), known as Lonnie Youngblood, is an American saxophonist and bandleader best remembered for playing with Jimi Hendrix.

Contents

Biography

Youngblood's main influence is King Curtis, although his earliest influence was his mother's favorite artist Louis Jordan. In 1966 Youngblood played with Hendrix on some sessions with various singers for producer Johnny Brantley. Three of these sessions yielded the Youngblood singles "Goodbye, Bessie Mae"/ "Soul Food (That's What I Like)" and "Go Go Shoes" (Parts 1 & 2), and five singles by other artists. After Hendrix' death Brantley put together an LP from these sessions, including the two Youngblood singles, the other artists singles plus a couple of out-takes from these sessions, adding some new overdubs to "improve" the sound. All of the original vocals by the other artists were wiped, although they can be heard faintly in places, and there was no mention of them. None of the original artists were credited - apart from Youngblood - and the cover misleadingly featured a 1969 photo of Hendrix and Youngblood jamming on stage. The sleeve notes falsely claim that these were Hendrix earliest recordings made in 1963. This date has clearly been demonstrated to be false by earlyhendrix.com. [1] He also worked from time to time in Curtis Knight & Hendrix' group Curtis Knight and the Squires. In 2010, Youngblood initiated a lawsuit against the Hendrix estate, MCA Records and film director Martin Scorsese, for their unauthorised use of what he claimed was his composition, "Georgia Blues", on the Jimi Hendrix album, Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues.

His first professional job was backing up Pearl Reaves in 1959. [2] [3] He also got his stage name from Reaves. The first time she saw him, she exclaimed, "Oh, he's just a baby!" and from then on he was no longer Lonnie Thomas but Lonnie Youngblood. [4]

Youngblood's first solo recording, "Heartbreak" became a hit and help him work as bandleader for Faye Adams, Buster Brown, and Baby Washington. Youngblood was a regular on college campuses in the 1960s and appeared numerous times at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity at Dartmouth College on which the Delta House in the film Animal House was largely based.

Youngblood doesn't appear to have played with Hendrix after these 1966 sessions. Then in 1969 he was photographed jamming on stage with Youngblood in New York, and around this time he also added a lead guitar overdub to Youngblood's song "Georgia Blues". The two remained friends up until Jimi's death in 1970. Youngblood worked mostly as a backup musician during the remainder of the 60's for James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Ben E. King, Sam & Dave, and other soul greats.

The recordings that Youngblood made that featured Hendrix amounted to four songs on two singles. They were released during Hendrix's lifetime. They were "Soul Food (That's a What I Like)" / "Goodbye, Bessie Mae" and "Go Go Shoes" / "Go Go Place". [5]

Lonnie Youngblood continues to perform, and is nicknamed the "Prince of Harlem".

Solo releases

Lonnie Youngblood has released at least four albums from the 1970s to the 1980s. Live At The Sugar Shack in 1971, Sweet Sweet Tootie in 1973 and the self-titled Lonnie Youngblood in 1977. All of them on the Turbo Records label. In 1981, Feelings was released by Warner Music Group. [6]

In 2011, he recorded an album with electric organist Dave "Baby" Cortez for Norton Records, catalog number 380. [7]

Releases

Singles

Albums

Related Research Articles

War (American band) American funk band

War is an American funk/rock/soul band from Long Beach, California, known for several hit songs . Formed in 1969, War is a musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, psychedelia, and reggae. According to music writer Colin Larkin, their "potent fusion of funk, R&B, rock and Latin styles produced a progressive soul sound", while Martin C. Strong calls them "one of the fiercest progressive soul combos of the '70s". Their album The World Is a Ghetto was Billboard's best-selling album of 1973. The band transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. War was subject to many line-up changes over the course of its existence, leaving member Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan as the only original member in the current line-up; four other members created a new group called the Lowrider Band.

Betty Davis is an American funk and soul singer. She is known for her memorable live performances, and as Miles Davis's second wife.

Sue Records was also the name of a Louisiana-based record company which owned Jewel Records.

Curtis Knight, born Mont Curtis McNear, was an American musician who is known for his association with Jimi Hendrix.

<i>Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix</i> 2003 compilation album by Jimi Hendrix

Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix is a ten track companion release to the critically acclaimed television documentary series Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues shown on PBS in September 2003.

Jimi Hendrix discography

Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter whose career spanned from 1962 to 1970. His discography includes the recordings released during his lifetime. Prior to his rise to fame, he recorded 24 singles as a backing guitarist with American R&B artists, such as the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. Beginning in late 1966, he recorded three best-selling studio albums and 13 singles with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. An Experience compilation album and half of a live album recorded at the Monterey Pop Festival were also issued prior to his death. After the breakup of the Experience in mid-1969, songs from his live performances were included on the Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More and Band of Gypsys albums. A studio single with the Band of Gypsys was also released.

Testify (Isley Brothers song) 1964 single by The Isley Brothers

"Testify" is an uptempo soul song by the American rhythm and blues group the Isley Brothers. Written by the Isleys and recorded in 1964, it followed several successful singles by the group and was the first single to appear on their own T-Neck record label.

Burning of the Midnight Lamp 1967 single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience

"Burning of the Midnight Lamp" is a song recorded by English-American rock trio the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Written by frontman Jimi Hendrix and produced by band manager Chas Chandler, it features R&B group Sweet Inspirations on backing vocals.

"I'd Rather Go Blind" is a blues song written by Ellington Jordan and co-credited to Billy Foster and Etta James. It was first recorded by Etta James in 1967, released in 1967, and has subsequently become regarded as a blues and soul classic.

Little Richard discography

This page is a discography for American musician Little Richard. Described as "the architect of rock and roll", Little Richard was a pioneering singer-songwriter whose career also encompassed rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel. He began his recording career in 1951, signing to RCA Victor, releasing his first singles, and his first album in 1957, although he released his last album in 1992, he continued to tour into the 21st century. He attained international success after signing with Specialty Records in 1955.

Linda Jones Musical artist

Linda Jones was an American soul singer with a strong gospel-influenced style.

Jimmy Norman Musical artist

Jimmy Norman was an American rhythm and blues and jazz musician and a songwriter. In his early career, Norman had a charting single of his own, "I Don't Love You No More ", as well as performing session work with Jimi Hendrix, but he is better known as a lyricist and songwriter. He wrote the expanded lyrics of the song "Time Is on My Side", which became a hit for The Rolling Stones and was later re-recorded and produced by Stephen Vanderbilt featuring "St. Tropez" as the A side of a 45 released from the album Home throughout Europe. Norman composed a number of songs performed by well-known musicians including Johnny Nash and Bob Marley. In 1969 he became involved with doo-wop band The Coasters, first as a producer and then as a touring member. He was also recording independently, releasing a solo album in 1998, the same year poor health forced him to retire from performance. Like many other musicians of his time, he was not financially prepared for retirement or heavy medical bills, and with few royalties for his writing soon found himself in economic crisis. With the assistance of charitable organization Jazz Foundation of America, Norman regained his feet and resumed performing, releasing his first wide-distribution album in 2004, Little Pieces. He performed in the Manhattan area until shortly before his death.

Loma Records was an American subsidiary record label of Warner Bros. Records managed by Bob Krasnow, then later Russ Regan. Its name was derived from Eloma, a cleared copyright Warner owned.

<i>People, Hell and Angels</i> 2013 compilation album by Jimi Hendrix

People, Hell and Angels is a posthumous compilation album by the American rock musician Jimi Hendrix. The fourth release under the Experience Hendrix deal with Legacy Recordings, it contains twelve previously unreleased recordings of tracks he was working on for the planned follow-up to Electric Ladyland. It was released on March 5, 2013.

"Free Spirit" is a 1966 song by blues session player Hermon Hitson, which was mistakenly released as the title track of two albums of bootleg Jimi Hendrix recordings. The title track of both Free Spirit bootleg albums, and other songs recorded in the same sessions, contained contributions by Lonnie Youngblood and Lee Moses, but no verified content by Hendrix himself. A version of "House of the Rising Sun" is sometimes labelled as Hendrix, yet is Hermon Hitson.

Pearl Reaves Musical artist

Pearl Reaves, also known by her married name, Pearl Farano, was an American R&B singer and guitar player, best known for her 1955 single, "I'm Not Ashamed ". She was unusual for her time in that she sang lead and played guitar, backed by male performers.

Hermon Hitsona.k.a.Herman Hitson is an American guitarist from Atlanta, Georgia, United States. He has played with Garnet Mimms, Joe Tex, Bobby Womack, and Wilson Pickett. Hitson has also been at the center of the controversy over the disputed Hendrix "Free Spirit" track.

Curtis Knight and the Squires were a New York band that was fronted by singer and guitarist Curtis Knight in the mid-1960s. Both Jimi Hendrix and sax player Lonnie Youngblood were members for a while.

<i>Both Sides of the Sky</i> 2018 compilation album by Jimi Hendrix

Both Sides of the Sky is a compilation album by Jimi Hendrix, released by Legacy Recordings and Experience Hendrix on March 9, 2018. The 13-track album, including ten previously unreleased recordings, were recorded with either the Jimi Hendrix Experience or the Band of Gypsys lineups, and features guest appearances from Stephen Stills, Johnny Winter and Lonnie Youngblood. It was the third release in a trilogy of posthumously released "archival recordings" compilation albums highlighted as intended for a follow-up to Electric Ladyland (1968), starting with Valleys of Neptune (2010) and continuing with People, Hell and Angels (2013).

TaharQa Z. Aleem and Tunde Ra Aleem were formerly known as Albert and Arthur Allen. Although they wore many hats, they are most notable for being American musicians, producers, authors, and entrepreneurs originally based out of Harlem, NY, in addition to being close friends and musical collaborators with Jimi Hendrix.

References

  1. ↑ Early Hendrix site Lonnie Youngblood Discography
  2. ↑ Kochakian, Dan (December 1985). "Pearl Reaves". Women, Whiskey And... (15): 25–27.
  3. ↑ Moriarty, Frank. "Lonnie Youngblood: The Voice of Experience". Frank's Crossroads. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Marberry, Craig; Cunningham, Michael (2003). Spirit of Harlem: A Portrait of America's Most Exciting Neighborhood. Doubleday. p. 169. ISBN   9780385504065.
  5. ↑ Early Hendrix site Discography Confirmed
  6. ↑ "Lonnie Youngblood". Discogs.
  7. ↑ "380 DAVE "BABY" CORTEZ with LONNIE YOUNGBLOOD AND HIS BLOODHOUNDS LP (380)". Norton Records.
  8. 1 2 Early Hendrix site Discography confirmed Lonnie Youngblood
  9. ↑ Loma Records Discography of Loma Records - Lonnie Youngblood
  10. ↑ Discogs Lonnie Youngblood – Live At The Sugar Shack
  11. ↑ Discogs Lonnie Youngblood – Sweet Sweet Tootie
  12. ↑ Rate Your Music Jimi Hendrix & Lonnie Youngblood: Two Great Experiences Together
  13. ↑ Discogs Lonnie Youngblood – Lonnie Youngblood
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.