Lonnie Glosson

Lonnie (Marvin) Elonzo Glosson (born February 14, 1908 in Judsonia , Arkansas , † March 2, 2001 in Searcy , Arkansas) was an American old-time and country musician and harmonica player. Glosson had a multifaceted career as a musician, songwriter and businessman, especially in the 1930s and 1940s.

Life

Childhood and youth

Lonnie Glosson was born in 1908 in White County, Arkansas, to simple living George H. and Cora Busby Glosson. Glosson's grandparents immigrated from North Carolina to Arkansas in the 1850s , where they eventually stayed. Glosson bought his first harmonica as a child after earning his money in the cotton fields; his mother then taught him the song Home Sweet Home . Glosson's brother Buck also became a musician. Glosson later changed his middle name "Marvin" to "Elonzo" because it was originally named after an unpopular uncle.

Career

As a young man, Glosson began to roam the country, performing in hair salons, on street corners and on the radio. After a stop at KMOX in St. Louis , Missouri , in 1926, he joined the National Barn Dances ensemble through WLS of Chicago . The show became one of the most popular country shows in the country over the next few years and Glosson also met Gene Autry there , who was also starting his career as a Jimmie Rodgers impersonator at the same time . When Autry went to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career in the early 1930s , Glosson went with him, but returned shortly afterwards.

Glosson made his first recordings for Broadway Records in the early 1930s . Even then, his repertoire consisted of various genres such as old-time music , blues and gospel - but mainly old-time. Through the 1930s, Glosson and his band, the Sugar Creek Gang , performed on countless radio stations including WHAS, WWVA, KWKH and KRLD. Recordings for Conqueror Records were also made during this time - the single Fox Chase / Arkansas Hard Luck Blues is worth mentioning here . The latter is described by music experts as one of the first “talking blues”, later made famous by artists such as Woody Guthrie .

In the late 1930s, Glosson began a musical partnership with another harmonica player, Wayne Raney . With Raney he had a show on KARK in Little Rock in 1938 and later a nationally broadcast show on WCKY. They could also be heard in Mexico on XEPN and XERA. In the 1940s he was a member of the WSB Barn Dance from Atlanta and worked with other stars such as Merle Travis , Grandpa Jones and the Delmore Brothers together. Glosson played on the Delmores' Blues Stay Away from Me , among others . With Wayne Raney he sold harmonica and instructions for playing through mail order, which sold millions of copies.

In 1949, Glosson had his only big hit with Raney. Why Don't You Haull Off and Love Me , recorded for King Records , peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Charts . Glosson's solo records, especially in the late 1940s and early 1950s for Mercury Records and Decca Records , were based heavily on hillbilly boogie , a form of country music with elements of boogie woogie .

Glosson's popularity slowly declined in the years that followed, and during this time he increasingly devoted himself to gospel. In the 1960s, Glosson had its own television show, the Uncle Lonnie Show , on KFSA in Fort Smith , and was featured on the country comedy show Hee Haw in the 1970s . He continued to perform later, mainly in schools, and was musically active well into old age. He had been married to Ruth Moore since 1931, with whom he had six children. Glosson died on March 2, 2001 at the age of 93. He was buried in Kensett, Arkansas.

Discography

Singles

Discography is not exhaustive.

year	title	#	Remarks
Broadway Records
1932	The Fox Chase / Fast Train Blues
Conqueror Records
1936	Lonnie's Fox Chase / Arkansas Hard Luck Blues	8732
Mercury Records
1947	Lost John / What Is a Mother's Love	6057
1948	Ole Mother Nature / Talk of Peace	6074
1948	I Don't Know Why I Love You / West Bound Rocket	6109
1948	Now My Darling Doesn't Care / The Fox Chase Boogie	6142
1949	You'll Miss Your Dear Ole Daddy / It'll Make a Change in Business	6197
1951	Mother's Voice / That Naggin 'Wife of Mine	6345
DSL records
1948	Mama Blues / Fox Chase	101
1948	Fast Train Blues / Lost John	102
Decca Records
1949	Down at the Burying Ground / I've Got the Jitters Over You	46190
1950	Trouble Ain't Nothin '/ Pan American Boogie	46215
1950	Del Rio Blues / Steel Guitar Rag	46227
1951	I Want You to Know That I Love You / Till the Cow Comes Home	46361
Promotional Records
1964	EP: Harmonica Instrumental Cat Chase Fight Lonesome boy Green Valley Waltz Bon-a-Parte Retreat	SEP-101
Rimrock Records
1976	For Christmas Give Jesus Your Soul / Widows and Orphans	LG-265	possibly just a demo

Albums

• 19 ??: The Living Legend Lonnie Glosson - His Guitar and Harmonica (Rimrock)

Web links

• Biography in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
• Lonnie Glosson on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)