The
Jonny
Lang
Story
Lie To Me. The A&M Records debut from Jonny Lang has vaulted this teenager into international notoriety. Due to huge amounts of radio and video air play, ceasless touring the US and across the world, as well as being embraced by the media, this Minneapolis native has made enormous inroads towards exposing the Blues to a new generation of fans. As the anniversary of Lie To Me's release approaches, the record remains on Billboard's Top 200, has scanned over 700 000 copies and is set to explode in 1998 with the release of the album's next single, "Missing Your Love."
Jonny Lang was born in Fargo, North Dakota on January 29, 1981. At the age of twelve, he attendedhis first real concert featuring the "Bad Medicine Blues Band". the fretwork of the group's lead guitarist left a huge impression, and within months a young Lang became Ted Larsen's understudy. As the relationship evolved, he joined the group quickly becoming the frontman, and the band was rechristened "Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang". The independent debut, ' Smokin', became a regional success, selling in excess of 25 000 copies.
Two years of regional touring paid off, shocking record buisness veterans when "Lie To Me" debuted at number one on Billboard's New Artist chart with saled of 9 524 copies across the counter. The lead single, 'Lie To Me', became a multi-format smash on radio, and Lang's pilgrimage across the US, Europe, and Japan began. At first, the sixteen year-old made headline appearances in clubs and at Hard Rock Cafés across the counrty. Word of mouth spread, and at festivls in early-May in Tulsa, Memphis, and Atlanta, blues fans roamed the grounds all aware that something special was going on. After a short tour of Europe, Lang returned to the US and spent a month on the road with B.B. King, who when asked by a the Los Angeles Times to name the two most promising new blues players he's heard recently mentioned, "Jonny LAng's 16, so he's got youth and talent with it. When I was young, I didn't play like I do today. So these kids are starting at the height I've reached. Think what they might do over time. And even if they didn't add anything else, they've got still added youth. So I'm proud of them and grateful." Lang ahd the opportunity to play with B.B., fulfilling one of his lifelong dreams. As that tour wrapped, he immediately began an extensive run across North America with Aerosmith which began on June 30th in Portland, ME and continued for close to four months. While on tour, he joined the Boston quintet on stage in his hometown of Minneapolis and in New York's Madison Square Garden. Aerosmith's guitarist Joe Perry recalls, "I have seen many band release songs, videos, and have number one hits, but hardly any that get the same reaction that Jonny does live, which is a testament to his playing. He and his band would very often get a standing ovation at the end of their show." As '97 wound down, Lang joined Blues Traveler for a six-week excursion and then headed off to Japan for a headlline tour.
As 1998 began, Lang continued to watch his audience and fn base grow exponentially on a monthly basis. As he looks back on the great tours of '97, shooting his own hour long special for the Disney channel, being named the youngest member of Newsweek's Century Club alongside Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Tiger Woods, and Beck (100 Americans expected to be influential in the next millenium whose "creativity or talent or brains or leadership will make a difference in the years ahead"). And his tour with the Rolling Stones, a headline tour of large clubs and theatres, the release of Blues Brothers 2000 which features a performance of "6345789" he shot with Wilson Pickett and Eddie Floyd, and ultimately the recording of his second A&M release, he mentions, "I'm lucky enough to know what I want to do with my life at this age, and I've been given the opportunity to make it a reality."
With all of the notoriety, Jonny Lang remains the individual who emerged a year ago. A young man with a level-head, a driving love for music, and the simple goal of continuing to spend his time doing what he loves more than anything.
from the Jonny Lang Bio page at A&M Records