Biography of Lonnie Brooks

Lonnie Brooks has emerged as a standard-bearer of "genuine house-rocking music" for Alligator Records over the past decade and a half, with a bright, energetic style that draws from blues, rock & roll, and Louisiana R&B. Brooks (born Lee Baker, Jr.) began his recording career in Lake Charles, LA, releasing "Family Rules," "The Crawl," and other '50s rhythm & blues sides under the name Guitar Jr. A move to Chicago put him in closer touch with hardcore blues (one of his first jobs in the city was with Jimmy Reed) and soon brought him a new stage name. Most of his singles continued to be in an R&B or soul vein until he adopted a bluesier approach when he began waxing albums for the blues market. ~ Jim O'Neal