Here's an obituary that tells his story quite well.

Obituary: Lonnie Glosson
The Independent, (London), Mar 13, 2001   by Paul Wadey

LONNIE GLOSSON was sometimes billed as "The Best Harmonica Player in the World". Whilst many would disagree with this judgement, he undoubtedly had an influence on the growth in popularity of his instrument and ranks alongside DeFord Bailey and Wayne Raney as one of the finest hillbilly harmonica wizards.

While he served as a role model to a younger generation of country "harp" players, his admirers also included the country star Charley Pride and the blues musician "Dr" Isaiah Ross. Ross later enthused about Glosson's willingness to create new tunings in his harmonicas by dismantling them and altering the keys.

Lonnie Glosson bought his first harmonica as a nine-year-old and was taught to play by his mother. He left home, in Judsonia, Arkansas, at 16, for St Louis where he combined work in construction with regular appearances on the local radio station, KMOX. In the years that followed he hoboed around the States, performing wherever he could, before finding himself in Chicago and appearing on the famed WLS National Barn Dance radio show.

He used his exposure as an opportunity to sell both harmonicas and instruction manuals to his growing number of fans, a commercial success story that extended into the age of the internet. At the time of his death, his website was offering not only tapes and teach- yourself booklets but also the smallest playable harmonicas in the world.

Following his success at WLS, he continued to live an itinerant existence and over the next few years worked as a featured performer on both the Renfro Valley Barn Dance in eastern Kentucky and on Nashville's famed Grand Ole Opry. Whilst at WHAS radio, Louisville he met the rising star Molly O'Day and taught her one of his most famous numbers, "Matthew Twenty-four". He also, during the late Thirties, struck up a friendship with Wayne Raney; the pair of them went on to form an unusual twin harmonica act based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Glosson's association with his fellow virtuoso would eventually yield successes like Raney's 1949 crossover hit "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me" and gave impetus to his own recording career. In that same year he enjoyed a minor hit with the self-penned "Lost John" and followed it with a clutch of highly regarded discs including "I've Got the Jitters Over You", "Del Rio Blues" and, for Acme Records, a popular recitation, "The Old Dutchman's Prayer".

Although his recording career subsequently faltered, he went on to become a fixture at Old Time Music festivals and regularly performed in schools, combining lively musicianship with serious talks on drug and alcohol abuse. He continued to perform publicly until the autumn of last year.

Lonnie Glosson, harmonica player: born Judsonia, Arkansas 14 February 1908; married (three sons, three daughters); died Searcy, Arkansas 2 March 2001.

Copyright 2001 Independent Newspapers UK Limited
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.