Lonesome Sundown
b. Cornelious Green, 12 December 1928, Donaldsonville, Louisiana, USA. Green taught himself piano while growing up, then took guitar lessons in his early '20s. He joined Clifton Chenier's band in 1955, and can be heard on several of that artist's recordings on the Specialty label. The following year he recorded for the first time in his own right and 16 singles were issued over the next nine years under the name given to him by producer Jay Miller—Lonesome Sundown. Many of these, such as My Home Is A Prison and Lonesome Lonely Blues, were classic examples of that uniquely Louisiana sound, swamp blues—a resonant production, featuring a strong, booming rhythm section, rippling piano and support from Lazy Lester or John Gradnigo on harmonica and Lionel Prevost on tenor saxophone. Green's vocals and biting lead guitar invariably provide just the right gritty edge. A religious conversion towards the end of this period led to his withdrawal from the music scene, but he returned, if only briefly, to record an excellent album for the Joliet label in the late '70s.