Guitarist Lonnie Mack dies

Rock guitarist and Aurora, Indiana, native Lonnie Mack has died.

According to his label, Mack died of natural causes Thursday at Centennial Medical Center near his home in Smithville, Tennessee. He was 74.

Mack, whose hits include 1963's "Memphis" (an instrumental version of the Chuck Berry song), is credited with influencing the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Jimmy Page.

Rolling Stone was called him “a pioneer in rock guitar soloing.”

Mack was born in 1941 in Aurora, about 30 miles from Cincinnati. He learned his first few chords from his mother. He quit school after a fight with his sixth-grade teacher and formed his first band, Lonnie Mack and the Twilighters, at age 13.

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He played roadhouses in the Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky region and was a session musician for the Cincinnati-based King and Fraternity labels, backing big names such as James Brown, Freddie King and Hank Ballard.

Mack moved to Texas in 1983 and, shortly thereafter, recorded "Strike Like Lightning" (Vaughan plays with him on several tracks).

In June of 1990, he released "Lonnie Mack, Live! - Attack of the Killer V." Though it was recorded in Chicago, the album mentions Cincinnati on no less than three songs: "Riding The Blinds," "Cincinnati Jail" and "Camp Washington Chili."

The musician received a lifetime achievement award at the then Cincinnati Enquirer Pop Music Awards (the Cammys) in 1998.

He is survived by five children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to his label's release. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The Enquirer archives contributed.