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Johnny Lang
Jonny Lang rocketed out of his adopted hometown of Minneapolis at the age of 13, astonishing the world with his splashy guitar playing and a grizzled blues man's voice that seemed to belong to someone five times his age. The tow-headed boy had dreamed big, obsessively learning how to play guitar, then convincing his parents that he should forgo school and take to the road. "My mom eventually was okay with it, and just told me to 'Be safe and call home a lot.'"
The risk paid off, and Lang quickly shot to the top of the blues charts, earning his first platinum record by the time he was sixteen for Lie To Me. He picked up his second platinum album for Wander This World in 1998 -- the same year he opened for the Rolling Stones. In 1999, he performed at Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura's inauguration, then traveled to the White House to perform for Clinton (where he presented the president with an autographed Fender Guitar). The next month he was personally invited to perform at Mick Jagger's 56th birthday party at the musician's estate in the South of France, where he jammed with Jagger, Bono, Elton John and Ron Wood. But then the wunderkind seemed to drop off the face of the earth, not releasing any more albums for five years.
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Artist Biography - Johnny Lang
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Johnny Langseth, 29 January 1981, Fargo, North Dakota, USA. Blues guitarist/singer Jonny Lang was signed to A&M Records as a child prodigy before his sixteenth birthday - having only received his first guitar at the age of 13. By this time he had already earned a strong regional reputation as an interpreter of the blues, eventually moving from Fargo to Minneapolis to become leader of Kid Jonny Lang And The Big Bang. That band's independently released Smokin' album underscored Lang's growing reputation, selling an impressive 25,000 copies without the aid of national distribution. By the time A&M stepped in for his signature, he had also played alongside such blues greats as Luther Allison, Lonnie Brooks and Buddy Guy. Lie To Me, produced by David Z (Janet Jackson, Collective Soul, Fine Young Cannibals), was an impressive major label debut. Although more mainstream in its combination of blues and soul textures than the raw Smokin', it confirmed Lang as a guitarist of impressive range and astonishing maturity. It included songs written by David Z, Lang's keyboard player, Bruce McCabe, Dennis Morgan and Lang himself, alongside cover versions of material by Sonny Boy Williamson ("Good Morning Little Schoolgirl") and Ike Turner ("Matchbox"). Wander This World broadened the musical range even further, emphasizing Lang's mastery of rock and soul styles. The album broke into the US Top 30 in November 1998. Later in the year, he made a cameo appearance in the movie Blues Brothers 2000.
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For more information , enjoy the official homepage of Johnny Lang
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