...and Lonnie Mack, too

[Dave W]

Odd thing was...there was no mention of it on local news in Cincinnati...for being a legit local guitar hero.

Maybe it was the song "Cincinnati Jail"?

Everything was all about Prince on the news.  Prince had absolutely zero influence on my life...

I too wore out a copy of "The Wham of the Memphis Man"

Bands still play Wham and Memphis around town, using those same arrangements.

That's astonishing. Besides Lonnie's local celebrity status, at least back in the day, Fraternity Records was a Cincinnati company. And Lonnie did studio work for King Records too. A long time ago, sure, but no mention? That's inexcusable. He was a guitar hero before there were guitar heroes.

Prince had no influence on my life either. All due props to the guy, he influenced many and I can understand why his fans are sad about his passing. But if you think it's bad in Cincinnati, be thankful that you're not here. We have Prince news, then a little real news gets squeezed in before the weather.

[Pilgrim]

I think this is a generational thing.

At the intro of SNL this week, the statement was made that "Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson were the soundtrack of our time..." (or words to that effect.)

I can't say that any of the three had any particular influence on me.

[rahock]

I couldn't agree more. All three should be very thankful for their success.
Rick

[gearHed289]

I think this is a generational thing.

At the intro of SNL this week, the statement was made that "Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson were the soundtrack of our time..." (or words to that effect.)

I can't say that any of the three had any particular influence on me.

Hmm... Not my time I guess. I think I was JUST a little too old (born in '64) when all those people came to fame, plus having grown up with siblings 7-10 years older then me. Prince was a hugely talented guy, and I always respected that, but I never connected with his music. I loved MJ when he was a little black kid. Madonna meant nothing to me.

[Pilgrim]

I think that he was a bigger deal for the now thirty-somethings.

[Dave W]

Not just thirtysomethings. Several of my friends from the local music scene, people I've known for over 20 years and who have never once mentioned Prince in all that time, have posted repeatedly about him on FB, how they have attended local events celebrating him, etc. They are all 45 or older.

When John Lennon was murdered, people mourned, but most of it was private. And what was public didn't turn into a massive public orgy of grief and celebration of his music.

It's just a sign of the times. So many people now have an almost pathological need to make their grief public, to be seen grieving, to get on camera telling any stranger who'll listen. And it's not just about celebrities.

[hieronymous]

I got into him in the '80s because I loved Stevie Ray Vaughan - wasn't there an album with both of them playing together? I can't remember. I picked up the Wham of the Memphis Man LP because of SRV and listened to it a lot. I especially liked Wham! & Memphis, and thought the Flying V with the Bigsby was so cool!

I also have zero Prince influence, even though he had a huge impact on many of my friends. I'm 45, so was 12 or 13 when he really hit big. I have tried to like him - I never liked any of the hits, tried to listen to some of the more obscure stuff like the Black Album when it was a bootleg, but to me it always sounded like there was something missing. Other musicians that I respect talk about seeing him live and being blown away, so there must be something there, but I haven't felt it myself.

I had never heard that the term "whammy bar" came from Lonnie Mack! Makes sense - it is reference here in this Gibson Lifestyle article.

[Pilgrim]

It's just a sign of the times. So many people now have an almost pathological need to make their grief public, to be seen grieving, to get on camera telling any stranger who'll listen. And it's not just about celebrities.

Man, you hit that one on the head!

People today have become exhibitionists. Every emotion, every experience has to be on display to the world. It's like they have to get external attention about it to make it real.

Most of the people hanging out on social media would be much better off if they put a cork in it, especially girls and young women who are letting a lot more of their personal life go public than is good for them.

[Dave W]

I got into him in the '80s because I loved Stevie Ray Vaughan - wasn't there an album with both of them playing together? I can't remember. I picked up the Wham of the Memphis Man LP because of SRV and listened to it a lot. I especially liked Wham! & Memphis, and thought the Flying V with the Bigsby was so cool!

I also have zero Prince influence, even though he had a huge impact on many of my friends. I'm 45, so was 12 or 13 when he really hit big. I have tried to like him - I never liked any of the hits, tried to listen to some of the more obscure stuff like the Black Album when it was a bootleg, but to me it always sounded like there was something missing. Other musicians that I respect talk about seeing him live and being blown away, so there must be something there, but I haven't felt it myself.

I had never heard that the term "whammy bar" came from Lonnie Mack! Makes sense - it is reference here in this Gibson Lifestyle article.

I've only heard the whammy bar story in recent years. It could be true. Never heard it way back when, though.

SRV did back Lonnie on most of the cuts on one of his mid-80s albums.

[Dave W]

Man, you hit that one on the head!

People today have become exhibitionists. Every emotion, every experience has to be on display to the world. It's like they have to get external attention about it to make it real.

Most of the people hanging out on social media would be much better off if they put a cork in it, especially girls and young women who are letting a lot more of their personal life go public than is good for them.

The year I was in eighth grade, three of my classmates died in separate accidents. Big school (2000+) but I had classes with all three. In each case, there was small article on the obit page in the local papers. As kids, we were shocked, we were sad, and then we went on with our lives. Their families grieved and no doubt still grieve today, but we weren't family.

Today, here in a metro area with close to three million people, every time a teenager dies in an accident, it's a major news story, often for days. Even if the teenager lived in a suburb with 50k or larger population, we're repeatedly told that "the whole community is in in mourning." Makeshift memorials at the accident site, at the school, at the family's home, students and neighbors anxious to get on camera to tell us all about their connection to the victim. The schools always bring in grief counselors, because kids today apparently can't cope with the realities of life. Often classes and athletic events are cancelled.

All-Prince news continues here today. Never mind national and global crises, Prince died without a will. Whatever will we do! 

[hieronymous]

I've only heard the whammy bar story in recent years. It could be true. Never heard it way back when, though.

SRV did back Lonnie on most of the cuts on one of his mid-80s albums.

Looked it up - Strike Like Lightning was the album - I remember liking it, it had then-modern production, etc. - now I would probably gravitate towards the original stuff.

[nofi]

those roadside memorials are a gruesome thing. would you want to remember your dead kid with a cross put next to the telephone pole his care slammed into.

[uwe]

those roadside memorials are a gruesome thing. would you want to remember your dead kid with a cross put next to the telephone pole his care slammed into.

True. A weird practice.

[uwe]

All-Prince news continues here today. Never mind national and global crises, Prince died without a will. Whatever will we do! 

Dumb question, but was he married or did he have kids? In Germany, lack of a written will just leads to statutory inheritance, i.e. the assets in their collective go to your kids (to be split among them in a separate legal step), if you don't have kids, then to your parents, if those are dead then to other relatives, if there are no living relatives it falls to the state.

I read that he refused hip surgery because as a Jehova's Witness he didn't want the blood transfusion (couldn't he have started saving his own?) and that way became all too reliant on painkillers.

[Dave W]

Dumb question, but was he married or did he have kids? In Germany, lack of a written will just leads to statutory inheritance, i.e. the assets in their collective go to your kids (to be split among them in a separate legal step), if you don't have kids, then to your parents, if those are dead then to other relatives, if there are no living relatives it falls to the state.

No, and no. Assuming he really didn't have a will, it will follow state statutory inheritance rules here. We were informed (in another of the endless stories) that since his parents are deceased, the estate will be divided among his siblings and half-siblings. No idea how many there are.

I read that he refused hip surgery because as a Jehova's Witness he didn't want the blood transfusion (couldn't he have started saving his own?) and that way became all too reliant on painkillers.

He was a JW, supposedly Larry Graham convinced him to convert. Don't know if he ever refused surgery.