SEIMA Mural in Lawrenceburg Honors Area's Musical History

Ralph Trotto and Lonnie Mack are among several depicted on the mural.

Photo by Cheryl Damon-Greiner.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) - On a summer day in the early 1950s, a teenage boy carrying his guitar made his way to a small house in Aurora, Indiana. Inside, a blind country gospel guitarist sat waiting. Before long, the room filled with riffs, licks and grooves - notes played, repeated, reshaped - until the student began to find his own voice.

The boy was Lonnie Mack. The teacher was Ralph Trotto. What started in that modest home would ripple far beyond the banks of the Ohio River, helping shape a sound that would one day reach audiences around the world.

This is the first in a series of stories highlighting the influential Hall of Fame musicians featured on the Southeast Indiana Music Association mural in Lawrenceburg. The mural, created by artist Christian Dallas, is located next to Lawrenceburg Civic Park at the corner of Short and New Streets. It was dedicated on December 8, 2023.

Adjacent to the mural is a large plaque listing all Hall of Fame inductees since 2001, when the Southeast Indiana Music Association began recognizing individuals who have helped music flourish across Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland counties. These honorees include both musicians and educators whose influence has extended far beyond southeastern Indiana, carrying their Hoosier roots into performances heard across the country and the globe.

The mural features, from left to right: Jamie Johnson (guitar), Ric Wright (drums), Nelson Elliott (bugle), Ralph Trotto (guitar), Lonnie Mack (Flying V guitar), The Boys From Indiana (bluegrass group), Jimmy Thomas (saxophone), and Kristen Weber (fiddle). Three children playing instruments are also included, symbolizing the next generation of local musicians—some of whom will be featured later in this series.

Some of the artists depicted belong to an earlier generation, while others are performing and recording today. This first story focuses on two musicians—one from Aurora and one from West Harrison—whose relationship evolved from mentor and student into lasting friendship: Ralph Trotto and Lonnie Mack.

Ralph Trotto was born in Cincinnati in 1929 and was blind from birth. He moved to Aurora, where he became known as a gifted guitarist, singer, and teacher. Those who knew him said he could play nearly anything by ear, from gospel to jazz, delivering each performance with a smooth tenor voice and deep emotion.

Trotto began his musical career playing in churches, including Versailles Church of God, and revivals for the Church of Christ. His style blended traditional country gospel with blues influences, intricate guitar work and passionate solos. Among his recordings is an instrumental version of “The Lord’s Prayer” that many consider a guitar classic. During the 1960s and 1970s, he recorded for regional labels such as Link Records and worked with “Hobo” Jack Adkins of Adco Records.

Beyond his own performances, Trotto was known for generously sharing his knowledge with younger musicians. One of those was a teenage Lonnie Mack, who traveled to neighboring Aurora to take guitar lessons. Mack later recalled skipping school just to spend time playing music at Trotto’s home. Under Trotto’s guidance, he absorbed not only technique, but a way of feeling and shaping music that would stay with him for life.

Born in West Harrison, Indiana, in 1941, Mack grew up surrounded by country, gospel, and rhythm and blues as his family share-cropped on different farms. He traded his bicycle for his first Lone Ranger guitar.

By his early teens, he was already developing his own style on the guitar, influenced in no small part by his time with Trotto. That foundation soon carried him beyond southeastern Indiana.

Mack broke through in the early 1960s with his instrumental hit “Memphis,” a high-energy reworking of the Chuck Berry song “Memphis, Tennessee.” He had made it up a few years earlier. Mack didn't know the lyrics, so he played an amazing electric guitar version instead. The record sold over a million copies and introduced his signature sound that was a fusion of blues, country picking, and gospel. He also helped popularize the Gibson Flying V guitar, an instrument that became closely tied to his image. When he was seventeen, with money from gigs, he bought the seventh Flying V ever made. He named it "Number 7." Mack, who was part Native American, loved the arrow-like shape of the guitar. With it, Mack's early 1960s recordings helped the electric guitar become the top solo instrument in rock.

Although Mack achieved national recognition, his career moved in and out of the spotlight as musical trends shifted, but his influence only grew. Guitarists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Keith Richards called him an inspiration. But he didn't like the idea of being a rock star. Mack missed playing in small towns. In 1971, Mack came back home to southern Indiana. For over ten years, he played in roadhouses and was a sideman. He also recorded country and bluegrass music. During this time, he owned a nightclub in Covington, Kentucky. He also had an outdoor country music venue in Friendship, Indiana. In 1983, Mack moved to Austin, Texas. He recorded and toured until 2004. After that, citing poor health, he stopped touring and released acoustic songs online. Lonnie Mack passed away from natural causes on April 21, 2016, at age 74. Since he preferred country to the rockstar life, he would have appreciated that his death was overshadowed by the death of superstar Prince, who died on the same day. Mack was quietly buried in Aurora, Indiana.

Ralph Trotto died in 2000 from injuries sustained in a car accident years earlier. Today, Trotto’s recordings remain prized by collectors and can still be found online, while Mack’s music continues to reach new audiences. Together, their story rooted in small-town southeastern Indiana illustrates how mentorship, talent, and a shared love of music can ripple far beyond their beginnings.

Go to YouTube and listen to these two guitarists play and you’ll understand why they are in the Hall of Fame.