Lonnie Brooks dies at 83
‘Angel Baby’ singer dead
CHICAGO, April 4, (AP): Chicago blues musician Lonnie Brooks, whose relationship with his adopted hometown was cemented by his hit recording of Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” has died at age 83.
A prolific musician known for his intense guitar solos and raspy but strong voice, Brooks died on Saturday night, his son Ronnie Baker Brooks said Sunday.
Brooks came to the blues by a circuitous route.
Born Lee Baker Jr. in Louisiana, he was focused on playing the guitar when he was noticed and invited to Chicago by soul singer Sam Cooke more than 50 years ago. He stayed and changed his name to Lonnie Brooks.
He recorded a number of albums for Chicago-based Alligator Records’ “Living Chicago Blues” series, including classics such as “Bayou Lightning,” “Hot Shot,” and “Lone Star Shootout.” He appeared in Dan Aykroyd’s film “Blues Brothers 2000.”
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune in 1992, Brooks said the blues did not come naturally to him at first.
“Then one night, I saw Magic Sam (Maghett) in a little blues club
George Orwell’s chilling dystopic novel “1984” will star Olivia Wilde, making her Broadway debut.
Producers Sonia Friedman
Amonkar
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Scott
Jenner
on the South Side. He went on stage right after he’d gotten into a big fight with his girlfriend, and it was like he was taking it out on his guitar. I seen how it came from the heart, so I went home to the basement, and got into that mood that Magic Sam had been in, and the blues came to me,” Brooks said.
The singer of the 1960s hit “Angel Baby,” a song covered by artists such as John Lennon and Linda Ronstadt, has died.
Rose Hamlin, the 71-year-old lead singer of Rosie and the Originals, died in her sleep on March 30, according to a post by her daughter, Debbie Cray, on the late performer’s website.
Hamlin was born Rosalie Hamlin on July 21, 1945, in Oregon. She was raised in Alaska before moving to California when she was a preteen.
Hamlin was 14 years old when she penned “Angel Baby,” a song that Lennon would later call one of his all-time favorites.
Cray said Hamlin hadn’t performed in years over concerns for her health, but she had taken up tending a “lovely garden,” according to her post on the website.
Rudin said Monday that the play will also star Tom Sturridge and Tony Award-winner Reed Birney. It will begin performances in May at the Hudson Theatre.
First published in 1949, Orwell’s classic tale of a society run by Big Brother in which facts are distorted and suppressed in a cloud of “newspeak” has topped the Amazon.com best-seller lists. The play version was created by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan and was nominated for an Olivier Award.
Wilde’s film credits include the Academy Award-winning drama “Her,” the Golden Globe Award-nominated “Rush” and the indie comedy “… Buddies.” She also starred in HBO’s rock ‘n’ roll drama “Vinyl.” (AP)