Toronto was Lonnie Johnson's last stop in a career of stops, at least
the eighth city in which he lived for any length of time. The
influential African-American singer and guitarist, a formative figure in
the history of blues and jazz dating back to the 1920s, travelled north
for a brief appearance at the New Gate of Cleve in May 1965 and returned
for a longer engagement at the Penny Farthing in June. Over the next
five years - the last five years of his life - he rarely left the city
again. Way Down That Lonesome Road: Lonnie Johnson in Toronto,
1965-1970, the tenth book from noted Canadian jazz historian Mark
Miller, reclaims Johnson from the realm of legend and brings him back to
life. In part a biographical study and in part a social history, Way
Down That Lonesome Road follows Johnson from the generous welcome that
he received from Toronto's critics on his arrival and the successes and
failures that followed.