Lonnie Youngblood
| Lonnie Youngblood | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lonnie Thomas |
| Born |
August 3, 1941 Augusta, Georgia, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Saxophonist, bandleader |
| Instruments | Saxophone |
| 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.
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. 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. 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.
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 '60s 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.
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