Hi Coastie, I had a thread a while ago, ever encounter greatness without realizing it. Here is hot it starts.
Sometimes, crazy happens. example. In Toronto in the golden folk era, late 60s, late nite, coffee house, mike was open. This old black guy, salt and pepper hair, gets up and plays a couple of numbers, I'm hearing a couple Django type riffs, and after go up and compliment the guy. He says something like 'thanks, ....I was pretty good when I was younger." He said if i wanted to I could go to 'Sam the Record mans store, and they might have something. I asked him his name. Lonnie Johnson, he replied. I picked up an album at Sams. Was shocked of course! Lonnie Johnson!!! Played with Duke Ellington for about 12 years, and Louis Armstrong for about 15. Pretty good..my my....the guy is a Legend. He was hit buy a car, and died in the hospital a while later..after hearing about that I would visit him. What a beautiful, humble, loving, giving and totally great man and musician I had the privlige of meeting. I remember him saying 'if the music is in you, you can make music with anything', any instrument, then mentioned something about someone playing music through a hose, with trumpet mouthpiece in it. Wow, Thanks for that one. Sure wish I'd thought to bring him a guitar in the hospital....I guess greatness, is all around us, Maybe some of us are more than a legend in our own mind, or not. Steffan
Coastie that was at a time when folk was every where, I was maybe 20. Odetta playing on a small stage in a coffee house, with her B I G voice, Sonny and Brownie, One time Josh Whites' bass players' cigarette burned a hole in my jacket sleve used to brag about that one....man, That was a page out of history. Such fine people, and it wasn't hard to say hi, or talk to them....At that time the real pros, knew who paid for their groceries. Example...two weeks after Odetta finished her gig, every one, on staff got a personal postcard from Odetta thanking them for being so nice and thoughtful for her....now thats class... It was also a time of breaking the segregation situation. I heard that Muddy Waters was blown away when he played a quite big place in Toronto, usually bands played there...and the audience was mostly white.
Lonnie was just the sweetest guy! The real piss off was, at the time he was working as a janitor.....imagine !!! :shock: :roll:
Crusin' thru some craigslists the other day found one that was a little old but fired off an e mail, expecting a sorry its gone. This was a brand new D4...I mean the case was pristine as was the guitar....The guy got it new 14 years ago for his wife, who never learned to play it, and its spent most of its life in its case...Seriously. He had a few calls on it and one guy showed up but said he didn't like its tone!!! Isn't that wonderful.....probably 14 year old strings don't bring out the best in this thing..His wife will meet me in a designated spot in 2 weeks for the deal. (of a lifetime :shock: 
