Lonnie Brooks, Chicago Blues Legend, Dies At 83

CHICAGO, IL — Legendary bluesman Lonnie Brooks, a staple of Chicago's blues scene for more than half a century, has died, according to his family. He was 83.

Brooks — born Lee Baker Jr. — died Saturday, April 1, in Chicago, according to a Facebook update by his son, blues musician Wayne Baker Brooks posted Sunday.

"Please respect the family's privacy during this time of grief," Brooks' son wrote in the update.

Funeral arrangements are still pending, but they will be announced soon, Wayne Baker Brooks wrote.

"Lonnie Brooks was a Chicago blues legend with a towering talent and soulful style that won him legions of fans across the country and around the world," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statment released Sunday. "His celebrated career inspired generations of music lovers, garnered numerous awards and brought him from the clubs of Chicago's west side to the concert halls of Europe and beyond. Amy and my thoughts and prayers are with Lonnie Brooks' family, friends and fans who are mourning his loss and celebrating his remarkable life."

Lonnie Brooks was born Dec. 18, 1933, in Dubuisson, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, and with a banjo, his grandfather schooled him in the blues. In 1950, Brooks continued his musical education in Texas, where he was influenced by a who's who of blues greats, such B.B. King, T-Bone Walker and others.

For nearly a decade, Brooks began carving out his own musical style — a blend of R&B, swamp pop and Chicago and Louisiana blues — and his own solo musical career under the name Guitar Junior. Convinced by soul legend Sam Cooke to move with him Chicago in 1960, he adopted the name Lonnie Brooks.

“My dad’s real name was Lee Baker, but he was going by the name Guitar Junior when he got to Chicago …," Brooks' son, Ronnie Baker Brooks, a bluse musician himself, told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It turned out that Muddy Waters was already playing with a guy named Guitar Junior, so dad changed it to Lonnie Brooks."

"He chose Lonnie Brooks because his best friend from growing up in Louisiana, his last name was Brooks. And he changed his first name to Lonnie because people down there they used to call him 'Little Lee,' but it came out sounding like 'Lonnie' with the Cajun accent," he added.

In Chicago, Brooks built a reputation as a background musician, performing for a variety of labels, such as Chess and others, and playing guitar on Jimmy Reed's 1961 double album "Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall." At the same time, he was constantly playing clubs and gigs around the city and even into Indiana.

Brooks cut his first album, "Broke an' Hungry," in 1969 with Captiol Records. Following touring overseas and releasing a French label album in 1974, he returned to his adopted hometown to perform on the stages that nurtured his talent, eventually signing with Alligator Records, the label he stayed with exclusively for the rest of his career.

It was with Alligator Records that Brooks recorded his signature album "Bayou Lightning" in 1979. He followed that up the next year with his rendition of the Robert Johnson classic "Sweet Home Chicago," a recording that ignited a productive, two-decade streak in his career and established his bona fides as an ambassador for the blues and Chicago.

"That song was so popular, man," Ronnie Baker Brooks told the Sun-Times. "He was like a walking advertisement for Chicago."

Fans, music institutions and members of Chicago's blues scene went online Sunday to offer condolensces and celebrate Brooks' life and his musical contributions:

In recent years, Brooks appeared in the movie "Blues Brothers 2000," and he was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010.

Blues legend Lonnie Brooks performs Sept. 6, 2003, at Navy Pier in Joliet, Illinois. (photo by Donald Miralle | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images)

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