Lonnie Shields
| Lonnie Shields | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lonnie Thomas Shields, Jr. |
| Born |
April 17, 1956 West Helena, Arkansas, United States |
| Genres | Electric blues |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | Mid 1980s–present |
| Labels | Rooster Blues, JSP Records, various |
| Website | lonnieshields |
Lonnie Shields (born April 17, 1956) is an American electric blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His primary influence was B.B. King. He has released six albums to date, and one publication described his music as "bewitching, funk-influenced variations on the oldest country blues".
Lonnie Thomas Shields, Jr. was born in West Helena, Arkansas, United States, with his local church being a focus for family life. Due to its similar musical heritage, West Helena is often considered an extension of the Mississippi Delta. He started his music career by playing funk and soul as a teenager in a local group called the Checkmates. This was before his friend and mentor, Sam Carr, based in Lula, Mississippi, showed Shields the rudiments of Delta blues. The twosome played together in the Unforgettable Blues Band, and took guidance from Frank Frost and Big Jack Johnson. Shields later played live with all three of them when performing with the Jelly Roll Kings.
In 1986, Shields appeared at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in his hometown, and was invited to record a single, "Cheatin' Woman" (1988) for the Rooster Blues label. He thus became the first artist from the Delta that Rooster Blues signed, following their relocation in 1986 to Clarksdale, Mississippi.Lonnie Pitchford and Shields helped in the construction of the new recording studio facilities. That initial recording led to him issuing his debut album, Portrait, on Rooster Blues in 1993, which achieved notable critical acclaim, being cited as one of the best debut albums of that year. In addition, Portrait won the Living Blues Critics' Poll as Best Album. The album had contributions from Carr, Frost and Johnson, as well as other Delta musicians including Lucky Peterson (guitar), Eddie Shaw (guitar and saxophone) and Jim O'Neal (producer). Shields then appeared at various festivals throughout the Northeast.
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