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Big Bill Broonzy
1951 publicity photograph — photographer unrecorded/unknown (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
Chicago

Big Bill Broonzy

This artist is no longer with us.
Born: Claimed June 26, 1893, Scott, Mississippi — though family records found after his death suggest 1903 may be closer to correct, and one biographer argues for a birthplace in Jefferson County, Arkansas instead · Died: August 15, 1958, Chicago, Illinois (throat cancer)• United States
Chicago BluesCountry Blues
Big Bill Broonzy reinvented himself musically at least three times over a four-decade career — country fiddler, then Chicago blues guitarist, then postwar bandleader, then international folk-blues ambassador — and somehow made every version of himself convincing. Even his own biography is contested. He was born Lee Conley Bradley and long claimed June 26, 1893, in Scott, Mississippi, as his birth date and place, but family records found after his death suggest 1903 might be closer to correct, and biographer Bob Riesman has argued for a birthplace in Jefferson County, Arkansas instead — a 1957 travel manifest confirms at least the June 26, 1893 date he used throughout his adult life (Kilde: Wikipedia). He was one of seventeen children of Frank Broonzy (Bradley) and Mittie Belcher; the family moved to Lake Dick, Arkansas, near Pine Bluff, while he was young. At around ten he built himself a fiddle out of a cigar box and learned spirituals and folk tunes from his uncle, Jerry Belcher (Kilde: Wikipedia). Broonzy long claimed he served in World War I, but biographer Riesman established he was only fourteen when America entered the war and never actually served (Kilde: Wikipedia). He switched to guitar after arriving in Chicago around 1920, learning from veteran minstrel and medicine-show performer Papa Charlie Jackson, who was himself already recording for Paramount Records (Kilde: Wikipedia). Broonzy's own first record, "House Rent Stomp" backed with "Big Bill Blues," came out on Paramount in 1927. Through the 1930s he recorded prolifically for Paramount, Champion, Gennett and the American Record Corporation's Melotone and Perfect imprints — by 1942 he had cut 224 songs, making him, by most counts, the second-most prolific blues recording artist of the entire prewar era (Kilde: Wikipedia). He moved to RCA Victor's Bluebird subsidiary in 1934 and to Vocalion in 1938, and behind the scenes became one of Chicago's most important connective figures: he's credited as composer on many recordings by his half-brother Washboard Sam and reportedly played guitar on most of Sam's tracks, and worked closely with Jazz Gillum and Tampa Red as well (Kilde: Wikipedia). By the 1940s he was bridging the older acoustic country-blues sound and the electric, postwar Chicago blues that Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon would soon make dominant — Wikipedia's own account is careful to note there's no direct documentary evidence he personally mentored Waters, though his 1940s records clearly foreshadow where the genre was headed (Kilde: Wikipedia). His May 1941 recording of "Key to the Highway" for Okeh, cut with Jazz Gillum on harmonica and Washboard Sam himself on washboard, became one of the most-covered blues songs of the century. After the American Federation of Musicians' recording ban ended, Mercury Records signed him in 1948, and by the early 1950s he'd pivoted again — toward the acoustic folk-blues sound that made him a sensation with white American and European audiences who had no direct memory of the prewar blues scene he'd come up in. His 1951 European tour drew standing ovations across the continent, and he spent much of 1955–1956 touring further afield still, through Africa, South America and the Pacific, sharing festival bills with Pete Seeger and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee (Kilde: Wikipedia). In 1947 he wrote "Black, Brown and White," a direct, unflinching song about American racial discrimination, which wasn't released until 1951 — reportedly because record labels considered it too provocative at the time (Kilde: Wikipedia). He published an autobiography, "Big Bill Blues," with Belgian writer Yannick Bruynoghe in 1955, and in 1957 became a co-founding faculty member of Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. He died of throat cancer on August 15, 1958, in an ambulance en route to Billings Hospital in Chicago, and was buried four days later at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Musical Influence

Eric Clapton has called Broonzy "a role model for me, in terms of how to play the acoustic guitar," and covered his songs repeatedly across his career, including "Key to the Highway" and "Hey Hey." Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones named Broonzy's "Guitar Shuffle" among his favorite pieces of guitar music, and John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Rory Gallagher, Bert Jansch and Jerry Garcia have all cited him as a formative influence. His 1950s European tours effectively introduced acoustic blues to a generation of British musicians who would go on to build the 1960s blues-rock boom (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Papa Charlie Jackson

Family and personal life

Father
Frank Broonzy (Bradley)

One of 17 children in the family.

Mother
Mittie Belcher

Family relocated to Lake Dick, Arkansas near Pine Bluff while Bill was young.

Half-brother
Washboard Sam

Broonzy is credited as composer on many of Sam's recordings and reportedly played guitar on most of his tracks.

Formative experiences

  • •Age ~10: Built himself a fiddle from a cigar box, learning from his uncle Jerry Belcher. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •c. 1920: Moved to Chicago and switched from fiddle to guitar, taught by Papa Charlie Jackson. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1927: First record released, "House Rent Stomp" / "Big Bill Blues," on Paramount. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1947: Wrote "Black, Brown and White"; the label held it back from release until 1951 as too provocative. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1951: First European tour, drawing standing ovations across the continent. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Stories & Anecdotes

"Long claimed to have served in World War I, but biographer Bob Riesman established he was only 14 when the U.S. entered the war and never actually enlisted. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
""Black, Brown and White" (written 1947) was considered too provocative by record labels and held back from release for four years. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"By 1942 he had recorded 224 songs, making him, by most counts, the second-most prolific blues artist of the entire prewar recording era. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Papa Charlie Jackson

Veteran minstrel performer who taught Broonzy guitar after his move to Chicago c. 1920.

Washboard Sam

Half-brother; Broonzy composed many of his songs and played guitar on most of his recordings.

Jazz Gillum

Harmonica player who recorded alongside Broonzy, including on "Key to the Highway."

Tampa Red

Close working collaborator through the 1930s–40s Chicago blues scene.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Big Bill Broonzy - Key To the Highway (1941)

Recorded May 2, 1941 for Okeh — one of the most-covered blues songs of the century.

Tube Radio

Big Bill Broonzy: Black, Brown and White

Big Bill Broonzy: Black, Brown and White

Big Bill Broonzy plays "Hey Hey"

Big Bill Broonzy plays "Hey Hey"

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
1927Paramount debutParamount Records—Paramount———First release, "House Rent Stomp" b/w "Big Bill Blues."
1930Paramount / Champion / Gennett / ARC era, ChicagoVarious—Paramount / Champion / Gennett / Melotone / Perfect——Thomas "Georgia Tom" Dorsey (Piano), Mozelle Alderson (Vocals)Prolific run of sessions through the early-to-mid 1930s; part of 224 songs recorded by 1942, among the most of any prewar blues artist. Included the 1931 "Alabama Scratch" session in Grafton, Wisconsin as one third of the trio the Harum Scarums.
1934Bluebird Records era, ChicagoRCA Victor / Bluebird—Bluebird——Black Bob (Piano)Moved to RCA Victor's Bluebird subsidiary, where his sound began evolving toward a fuller, more urban R&B feel accompanied by the pianist known as "Black Bob."
1937Small-combo sessions with Joshua Altheimer, ChicagoVarious—Vocalion / Bluebird——Joshua Altheimer (Piano)Began working with pianist Joshua Altheimer in a small instrumental group featuring drums, double bass and one or more melody instruments, moving his sound further from solo country blues toward a Chicago combo style.
1938Vocalion / Okeh era, ChicagoVocalion / Okeh—Vocalion / Okeh——Jazz Gillum (Harmonica), Washboard Sam (Washboard)Included the May 1941 recording of "Key to the Highway" with Jazz Gillum (harmonica) and Washboard Sam (washboard). Broonzy also reportedly played guitar on most of Washboard Sam's own recordings during this period.
1945"Where the Blues Began" / "Martha Blues" sessions, ChicagoVarious—Various——Big Maceo Merriweather (Piano), Buster Bennett (Saxophone), Memphis Slim (Piano)"Where the Blues Began" recorded with pianist Big Maceo Merriweather and saxophonist Buster Bennett; "Martha Blues" recorded with pianist Memphis Slim.
1947"Black, Brown and White" recorded——————Written and recorded 1947 but withheld from release by the label until 1951 as too provocative.
1948Mercury Records era, ChicagoMercury Records—Mercury———Signed after the AFM recording ban ended; includes "Hey Hey" (1951/52).
1951European tour recordingsVarious—Various European labels———Live and studio material from his first, sensationally received European tour.
1955Folkways Records eraFolkways Records—Folkways———Acoustic folk-blues recordings through the mid-to-late 1950s, coinciding with his autobiography "Big Bill Blues" (1955, with Yannick Bruynoghe).

Famous songs

01Key to the Highway
02Black, Brown and White
03Hey Hey
04House Rent Stomp

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

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