BLUE GUITARS

Eddie Lang & Lonnie Johnson

Acoustic Guitar, November 2004, Volume 15, Number 5, Issue 143, by Michael John Simmons.

The transcription of BLUE GUITARS shows Lang’s intro and both the backup and lead parts to Johnson’s first and third solos as well as Lang’s only solo, which occurs about halfway through the piece. Lang and Johnson both tuned their low E strings down a whole step, putting them in dropped-D tuning, which makes some chords, particularly Lang’s ninth chord accompaniment in measure 34, quite tough. Lang starts the song with four solo bars of arpeggiated chords based on a D-Bm-G-A7 progression before launching into his rhythm part, which spices up the standard blues progression with three- or four-note chords on the higher strings and a strong, active bass line. Lang also alters the tonic D chord to a D9 to lead into the G. Johnson starts with a half-step bend at the 13th fret, which becomes the piece’s melodic motif. Make sure you play this bend fluidly, but also in time and in tune. At 1:11 into the song, Lang and Johnson switch roles. Johnson plays rhythm using first-position chords while Lang plays a simple but elegant solo.

On tracks like this one, the two musicians would alternate playing rhythm chords and single-note lead lines, with Lang punching out the notes on his new (Gibson) L-5 archtop guitar and Johnson picking some sinuous lines on his custom 12-string.

Wednesday, May 8, 1929, NYC

LONNIE JOHNSON AND BLIND WILLIE DUNN

Lonnie Johnson (guitar), Blind Willie Dunn (Eddie Lang, guitar).

401870-A  Blue Guitars (Johnson-Lang) - OKeh 8711        

Application for Copyright sent to Washington, D.C. on Oct 5, 1929.

Filed at the Copyright Office Of The United States of America on Oct 14, 1929

Lonnie Johnson, 5th floor, 11 Union Square West, New York, N.Y.

Ed Lang 44th St. Hotel 120 W. 44th St, New York, N.Y.