[3] Lonnie Thomas Shields Jr. was born in West Helena, Arkansas, United States,[4] with his local church being a focus for family life.
[5] He started his music career by playing funk and soul as a teenager in a local group called the Checkmates.
This was before his friend and mentor, Sam Carr, based in Lula, Mississippi, showed Shields the rudiments of Delta blues.
[2] The twosome played together in the Unforgettable Blues Band, and took guidance from Frank Frost and Big Jack Johnson.
[13] The title was inspired by the nickname acquired by Shields, being among the somewhat younger generation of Mississippi blues men keeping the music alive.
[15] He appeared again at the Briggs Farm Blues Festival in July 2016, where he not only played but sold his own Delta-style barbecue food.