The first three shows in this series focused on how the acoustic guitar developed in America, becoming something incredibly different from the way that it was previously being utilized in Europe.

The changes were innovative and helped American music to become something drastically different from what came before. That being said, these changes did not resolve the fundamental problem of the guitar. Despite adding steel strings, the instrument still lacked the ability to be properly heard in a band that utilized brass instruments.

This show makes that point obvious by presenting two of the greatest geniuses of the early thirties, and the problems that they faced.

Featured tracks include:

I’m Not Rough – Louis Armstrong w/ Lonnie Johnson

Hot and Bothered – Duke Ellington Orchestra w/ Lonnie Johnson

6/88 Glide – Lonnie Johnson

Singin’ the Blues – Bix Biederbecke w/ Eddie Lang

A Handful of Riffs – Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang

Hot Fingers – Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang

Stringing the Blues – Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti

Goin’ Places – Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti

Saint Louis Blues – Django Reinhardt

Limehouse Blues – Django Reinhardt

Blues for Me – Django Reinhardt

Happy New Year Darling – Lonnie Johnson