After a wonderful day with family celebrating the first birthday of my grandson, Hendrix, I drove home last night to the news of the deaths of Prince (at 57) and Lonnie Mack.
I admit that I was never much of a fan of Prince, however I could recognise that the guy had an immense talent and as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and with the amazing ability to combine musical genres, he deserved all of the accolades and commercial success he received. If you happen to need any convincing of what a great guitarist he was, then I suggest you take a look at this clip from the George Harrison tribute concert in 2004.
'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'
His death at such a young age was a huge shock to me.
Lonnie Mack on the other hand I could identify with more easily being one of the major driving forces behind the role of the electric guitar as a lead instrument in blues, country and rock music. Am I stretching a point by suggesting that without Mack, we may have had no Duane Allman, Jeff Beck, Mike Bloomfield or many others? I don't think so.
One lesser known fact about Mack is that he played bass guitar on the recording of 'Roadhouse Blues' by the Doors in November 1969. However he will be best remembered for his lead work such as on his 1963 hit 'Memphis'
Here is 'Memphis' by Lonnie Mack.
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