BLUES LEGEND LONNIE BROOKS TO RECEIVE BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

BLUES LEGEND LONNIE BROOKS TO RECEIVE BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
 

Living blues legend Lonnie Brooks will be honored by Blues Blast Magazine when he receives the online publication's Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, October 23 at The Blues Blast Music Awards. The ceremony will take place at The Fluid Event Center in Champaign, IL. According to Blues Blast publisher Bob Kieser, "These awards are given to outstanding individuals who have a lifetime of exceptional accomplishments in blues music."

The Chicago Tribune declares Brooks' music a "joyful paean to the power of the blues. He is one of the genre’s fiercest guitarists.” Lonnie (originally Lee Baker, Jr.) was born in Louisiana and learned guitar at an early age, earning his first professional gig with zydeco master Clifton Chenier. During the 1950s Brooks, then known as Guitar Junior, cut a series of Gulf Coast proto-rock and roll singles for the Goldband label, now considered swamp rock classics. He headed to Chicago in the 1960s, changed his name to Lonnie Brooks and jumped head first into the Chicago blues scene. Brooks gigged constantly, releasing a few singles before Capitol Records issued his first solo album in 1969. He joined Alligator Records in 1978 and has released six classic solo albums. In addition, he joined his Gulf Coast friends Phillip Walker and Long John Hunter on Lone Star Shootout. Brooks received a Grammy Award nomination for his contributions to Alligator's famous Living Chicago Blues series. His live shows are legendary for kick-starting parties and spreading good times like wildfire.

The same night Brooks receives his award, Blues Blast will announce the winners of this year's awards. Five Alligator artists have been nominated for a total of seven Blues Blast Awards. Harmonica giant James Cotton and blues rockers Tommy Castro & The Painkillers each received two nominations. Blues master Joe Louis Walker, houserockers Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials and jump/swing legends Roomful Of Blues each received one nomination.