Dr. Lonnie Smith

A swashbuckling torchbearer for the funky soul-jazz tradition, Dr. Lonnie Smith was a master of the Hammond B-3 organ whose classic recordings are often cited as a major influence on the electronic, hip-hop, and funk artists who followed him. He first grabbed audience's attention in the late 1960s playing alongside two fellow soul-jazz pioneers, guitarist George Benson and saxophonist Lou Donaldson, the former of which appeared on the organist's 1967 debut album, Finger Lickin' Good. That same year, Smith played on Donaldson's classic Blue Note album Alligator Boogaloo and the...