I first met Jonny Lang when he was around 14 or so. His dad, John lanseth, had put together a band called Kid Jonny Lang and the Big Bang with Jonny as the lead singer.

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At that point, Jonny didn't even play guitar. Big Bang's guitarist Ted Larson, now a prominent Minneapolis musician, taught Jonny how to play in a couple of months and the rest is history.

Anyway, Jonny used to come on a morning show I was on in Fargo to promote his upcoming performances. He was probably on the show 2 or 3 times a month. At that time, Jonny was just a local kid with a band. We had know idea he would jet to international stardom.

I kind of feel bad now that we gave him such a bad time. We'd say thinks like "What do you have the blues about, forget your locker combination?" Stuff like that.

Fast forward a couple of years. Jonny was coming back to Fargo to open for the Rolling Stones. He came by the studio for an interview the day of the show. I asked Jonny, "Do you even realize how cool it is you are 16, in your hometown about to open for the biggest rock band in the world?"  He just said, "Yeah, it's kinda cool, were are all going to my grandma's for dinner before the show." The Stones at Grandma's house. How cool is that?

I haven't talked to Jonny for years but I suspect he still is a little ticked about all the grief we gave him in the early years.

I still feel honored that my morning show partner and I were the first people to bring Jonny on stage and the first to ever play a Jonny Lang song on the radio.

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