The Lyric Leads of Willie James Lyons

West Side Chicago guitarist Willie James Lyons (1938-1980), has been a huge inspiration to me ever since I first got my hands on a vinyl copy of "Chicago Woman" on Isabel records (thank you Illinois Slim!). Willie James had a lyrical, elegantly vocal style to his playing that was instantly recognizable and very moving. This is an advanced lesson: having a strong foundation in WJL's main influences of Freddy King, Lowell Fulson and some Eddie Taylor is the starting point. Even if you're more of a beginner, I highly recommend listening to Willie James Lyons: "Chicago Woman" (also w Jimmy Johnson); Big Mojo Elem's "Mojo Boogie on MCM (also w Wayne Bennett); Johnny Big Moose Walker's "Goin Home Tomorrow" on Isabel, and Willie Kent's "Live at Ma Bea's" are all great. The MCM boxed set has some great tracks by WJL as well. I wish I could have seen him in person and I welcome anyone who knew him to share some WJL anecdotes in the comments session.
I'll be posting a lesson once a week which will always be free. Donations are gratefully accepted via paypal at [e-mail] or venmo at Johnny-Burgin-1. THANK YOU to those who've done so! I was fortunate enough to learn blues face-to-face from lots of great players over the years. PM me at [e-mail] for private skype, zoom, or googlemeet lessons to build your confidence as a player, become better at improvising, and grow your blues vocabulary. If you dig this kind of music, connect at my website at www.johnnyburgin.com and follow on instagram at @johnnyburgin, twitter at @burginjohnny and johnnyburgin.b... on Bandcamp and on Spotify. Please share, comment -- stay safe and thanks!