Blues guitarist and singer Lonnie Mack influenced many of rock’s greatest players, from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Lonnie Mack, a blues, rock, and country singer and guitarist, died April 21, 2016, of natural causes, according to multiple news sources. He was 74.
Alligator Records, Mack’s label, announced the death in a news release. The label said he died at a medical center near his home in Smithville, Tennessee.
“His early instrumental recordings — among them “Wham!” and “Memphis” — influenced many of rock’s greatest players, including Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, and especially Stevie Ray Vaughan,” the release notes.
The release also said Rolling Stone magazine called Mack “a pioneer in rock guitar soloing,” and that Guitar World described Mack’s playing this way: “Mack attacked the strings with fast, aggressive single-string phrasing and a seamless rhythm style that significantly raised the guitar virtuoso bar and foreshadowed the arena-sized tones of guitar heroes to come.”
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Joe Bonamassa, a fellow blues guitarist, shared his condolences on social media. He noted that, with the death of Mack and the pop superstar Prince — who was found unresponsive at his recording studio in a suburb of Minneapolis — April 21 “has been a very bad day for music. Guitar players especially.”
“Lonnie Mack … Rest in Peace,” Bonamassa tweeted. His Twitter message was accompanied by a photo of a pair of electric guitars.
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