Rick, Your correct. It WAS Lonnie Johnson I was thinking about.

Brendy,

BIG JOE WILLIAMS has several videos out there with his 9-string. As far as I know, he ONLY played the 9-string. He was an amazing guy. Most vollatile and possibly violent person I ever met. In '64 I was doing some research work for Bob Koester at the Library Of Congress Archive of Folk Song (as it was called back then)---Joe Hickerson's first year there. Bob sent me a postcard saying there was no money to pay me anything for my work but he'd be glad to pay me in LPs from his music shop--The Jazz Record Mart--still in Chicago. He ended the note with a line saying that Big Joe had been drunk & got in a fight (knife) with bluesman (harp) John Wrencher and almost killed him and had to split for environs not known. When I saw John Wrencher a few years later with Ted Bogan and Carl Martin --a trio-- I saw that J.W. had only one arm. Made me wonder how that came about...

...Ain't nostalgia great ???

Art Thieme