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Jimmy D. Lane

It was Hubert Sumlin who gave Jimmy his first Strat in 1986

The son of Blues Legend, Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy D. Lane was born July 4th, 1965 in Chicago. He grew up in a household where he became acquainted with a veritable who's who of Chicago bluesmen. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Mabon, Little Walter and Albert King, to name a few, would all stop by the house to visit the "old man". Coming from this environment has instilled in Jimmy D. Lane the deepest respect for elder statesmen of the blues. At the age of eight, Jimmy D. Lane began playing his dad's guitar, which he wasn't supposed to do. In the early '80s at the age of seventeen, Jimmy D. Lane did a stint in the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles. Upon returning home in 1983, he had a life changing experience. He was lying on the bed with his headset on, trying to figure out what to do with his life, and the song, Hey Joe (the Hendrix version) came on the radio and he heard the song like he had never heard it before. At that instant, Jimmy D. Lane knew exactly what to do. He took his last $59 to a pawnshop, bought a Harmony guitar and learned Hey Joe by ear. For the next four years he worked construction and roofing jobs, but would spend every other waking moment playing guitar. He would play along to blues as well as AC/DC and Journey records. By 1987 Jimmy D. Lane was good. He became lead guitarist of the Jimmy Rogers Band as well as forming his own band, Jimmy D. Lane and The Hurricanes and later Blue Train Running. Jimmy D. Lane toured extensively with his dad's band while juggling his own solo career. In 1993, The Jimmy Rogers Band toured Europe, where they made a stop to perform at the BBC. In '94 they performed at the W.C. Handy Awards and in '95 they appeared on the Conan O'Brien show, as well as the Chicago Blues Festival. Jimmy d. Lane made his solo recording debut in 1995. The self titled disc on Blue Seal Records features 12 fine originals and one of his dad's tunes. In 1993, however, he would meet the people who would put his recording career into high gear. During the sessions for Bluebird for Analogue Productions, with the Jimmy Rogers Band, he met Producer John Koenig and head of Acoustic Sounds, Chad Kassem. Koenig saw the Jimmy D. Lane band at B.B. King's Club in Universal City and was floored. Koenig and Kassem got together and Jimmy D. Lane recorded Long Gone for Analogue Productions in 1995, at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles, which was released in 1997.

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