1. Lonnie Brooks's sound was so huge and delivery so ferocious as to make everything alongside him seem a little smaller.
13 Facts About Lonnie Brooks
1. 2.
Lonnie Brooks learned to play blues from his banjo-picking grandfather but did not think about a career in music until he moved to Port Arthur, Texas, in the early 1950s.
3.
Clifton Chenier heard Brooks strumming his guitar on his front porch in Port Arthur and offered him a job in his touring band.
4.
Lonnie Brooks found regular work in clubs on the West Side of Chicago, in nearby Gary and East Chicago, Indiana, and occasionally in the Rush Street entertainment area on Chicago's North Side.
5.
Lonnie Brooks recorded numerous singles for various labels, including Chess, Chirrup, Mercury, Midas and USA Records, receiving some local radio airplay.
6.
Lonnie Brooks supported other artists on record and in live performances, including Jimmy Reed.
7.
Lonnie Brooks signed a contract with the label, which released his album Bayou Lightning the following year.
8.
Eric Clapton, performing in Chicago as part of his "From the Cradle" tour, honored Lonnie Brooks by inviting the bluesman on stage for an impromptu jam at the blues club Buddy Guy's Legends.
9.
Lonnie Brooks continued to tour in the United States and Europe.
10.
Besides his live and recorded performances, Lonnie Brooks appeared in the films Blues Brothers 2000 and The Express: The Ernie Davis Story and in two UK television commercials for Heineken beer.
11.
Lonnie Brooks was an influence on the soul artist Reggie Sears.
12.
Lonnie Brooks died in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on April 1,2017, at the age of 83.
13.
Lonnie Brooks co-authored the 1998 book Blues for Dummies, with Wayne Baker Lonnie Brooks and the music historian, guitarist, and songwriter Cub Koda.