Influential jazz guitar pioneer Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro) adapted the alias Blind Willie Dunn for a series of recordings that he made as a member of the Gin Bottle Four in 1928 and 1929. An all-star group that also included blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson, cornet player King Oliver, and, occasionally, Hoagy Carmichael on percussion and vocals, the Gin Bottle Four served as one of the first interracial jazz bands to record.

First using the pseudonym for a recording session, with pianist Frank Signorelli and chimes player Justin Ring, in 1928, Lang revived the Blind Willie Dunn persona the following year, cutting such classic tunes as "Blue Guitars," "A Handful of Riffs," "Midnight Call Blues," "Jet Black Blues," and "Hot Fingers."

The three recording sessions with the Gin Bottle Four represented only a small slice of South Philadelphia-born Lang's brief but prolific career. It's estimated that he worked with more than 400 musicians before dying prematurely after losing too much blood following a routine tonsillectomy at the age of 30. In addition to playing on groundbreaking recordings with jazz violinist Joe Venuti, a childhood friend, he rarely passed up an invitation to play. Seemingly colorblind, he worked with white musicians including Cliff Ukulele Ike Edwards, Ruth Etting, Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, and Bing Crosby, as well as with such African-American artists as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Clarence Williams, Victoria Spivey, and Ray Charles. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi