John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson: The Blues Harmonica of Chicago's Bronzeville

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson: The Blues Harmonica of Chicago's Bronzeville
Mitsutoshi Inaba
London: Rowman & Littlefield
2016: 234pp + 12 pp illustrations

It is hard to overestimate the importance of John Lee Williamson. better known as Sonny Boy Williamson I. The "I" refers to the fact another outstanding harmonica player, Rice Miller, also called himself Sonny Boy Williamson. the first Sonny Boy not only helped establish the harmonica as a main lead instrument in the blues, but also was a fine singer and whose music helped shape what we know as the classic Chicago Blues. Mitsutoshi Inaba, a Professor of African-American studies at Austin Peay State University previously wrote a biography of Willie Dixon. This is the first English language book on this important Blues Hall of Fame artist. Wolfgang Lorenz wrote "Bluebird Blues" that was published in Germany in 1986.

After acknowledgements and an introduction about the scope of the work, and he provides the details of Sonny Boy 1's life and music in 144 pages of text with chapters on "Learning the Blues: Jackson , Tennessee: 1914-1937"; "Reaching New Heights: St. Louis and Aurora, Illinois: 1937-1938"; "Windy City Blues: Chicago: 1939-1941"; "The Sound of Bronzeville: 1942-1948"; "The Final Days; 1948"; and Epilogue: Sonny Boy's Legacy: 1948-Present." Additionally there is a discography of 20 pages that includes Sonny Boy's recorded accompaniments as well as his own recordings and twelve pages of photographs and illustrations.

While most of Sonny Boy's contemporaries are gone, the author did interview Billy Boy Arnold and made use of recent interviews with Sonny Boy's relatives. He also interviewed harmonica player Joe Filisko on Williamson's harmonica playing.Additionally he made use of published interviews and articles (mostly from Living Blues and Blues Unlimited), as well as Yank Rachell's autobiography, census and other public records in bringing forth the narrative here.

He takes from his ancestry, playing the music in Jackson, Tennessee and St. Louis while traveling to Illinois to make his recordings before finally settling in there. There is considerable detail and analysis of the recording sessions including a few examples of musical notation as well as a written description of Sonny Boy's harp technique (with Joe Filisko being extremely helpful in his insights) along with consideration of some of the lyrics and how they related to Sonny Boy's own experiences. His music is traced from the more country blues oriented style of his earliest sides (many characterized as having a medium-slow blues formula) to the post-war Chicago band sound he helped pioneer including some that had a jump band tempo.

Included in the discussion is Sonny Boy going south to confront Rice Miller, his presence in the Chicago clubs in the forties, the circumstances of his murder and a consideration of his legacy in the blues. The discography includes delineating some of the styles of Sonny Boy's originals as well as a discussion of songs he adapted and their antecedent. It is interesting that in this chart, Sonny Boy's "Stop Breaking Down" is described as loosely related to Robert Johnson's recording and in a footnote, he notes that the refrain is similar but otherwise the lyrics are different.

Inaba has produced a welcome addition to the Literature on Blues Performers which merits addition to one's blues library.

I purchased this. Here is Sonny Boy 1 doing his take on "Stop Breaking Down."

 

Dr. Ross is the cure for the Boogie Disease

This review of Dr. Ross' Boogie Disease on Arhoolie, appeared back in the November 1992 Jazz & Blues Report (issue 176) back before the explosion of the World Wide Web. He would pass less than a year after this was written. He had moved to the Detroit area in 1954 and I had the pleasure of seeing him perform at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival where he was as vigorous as anybody. The Swedish blues artist, Robert Lighthouse, based in the Washington DC area, is among those who was musically influenced by this marvelous player. The album is still in print too.

Now a resident of the Detroit area, Isaiah “Dr.” Ross developed from a fine delta blues artist in the tradition of Big Joe Williams and Robert Petway into a one-man band. One of the artists who recorded for Sam Phillips, his early Memphis recordings have been reissued on Boogie Disease. Listening to the exuberance of the alternates to Boogie Disease and Chicago Breakdown, one can detect not only the strong delta rhythmic style of a Big Joe Williams (as well as northern transplant John lee Hooker), but also more than a bit of the influence of John Lee Williamson, reflected in a variety of songs including Going Back South and Polly Put a Kettle On. Of considerable note are his strong interpretations of such delta themes as Going to the River (Derived perhaps from Blind Lemon Jefferson, but played in the delta style), Shake ‘Em Down and Mississippi Blues. The latter is a Catfish Blues variant better known as Cat’s Squirrel and the source of the recording by the rock group, Cream. In addition to his youthful influences of John Lee Williamson and Tommy McClennan, one can also appreciate the impact of Muddy Waters, and John lee Hooker, particularly on the hypnotic rhythms of Industrial Avenue Boogie, a reworking of Hooker’s Boogie Chillum.This is an updated version of a vinyl reissue, and Steve La Vere has updated his and Bob Eagle’s original liner notes. Some of you have heard some of Dr. Ross’ Sun recordings and will have an idea of the exuberant boogie and barrelhouse blues to be found here. Others are in for a treat with respect to these superbly rendered performances.

Interesting, but not essential, New Sleepy John Estes Release

On Highway 80 is the seventh album by Sleepy John Estes for Delmark which he shares with his longtime associate Hammie Nixon. This is a collection of previously unissued recordings that Estes and Nixon recorded in July 1974, prior to touring Japan. It is an interesting, although hardly essential addition to their discography with Estes and Nixon handling a variety of mostly traditional material and songs they had performed before. Estes was not the most accomplished guitarist but his simple rhythmic style could be effective and his crying vocals tugged at the heart while Nixon’s harmonica playing influenced John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson. It is interesting to hear the treatment of the material here from the opening Love Grows in Your Heart, a version of Careless Love. Nixon’s vocal on Potato Diggin’ Man, which might have benefited from a stronger accompaniment, while the vigorous I’ll be Glad When You’re Dead, has spirited kazoo and second vocal from Nixon. Several selections are traditional religious numbers including Holy Spirit, a moving number with Nixon taking the lead with Estes seconding the vocal, When the Saints Go Marching In, on which Estes takes the vocal lead, and Do Lord Remember Me with Nixon’ harp and lead vocal setting the tone. There are also two takes of President Kennedy, about the assassination of the President that Estes first recorded shortly after that horrible event. Nixon’s kazoo gives a jug band flavor to Corrine, Corinna, on which Nixon again seconds Estes’ vocal. The album includes a couple of tracks featuring the pair talking and closes with a rendition of his famous song commemorating their hometown, Brownsville Blues. Some of the accompaniments are a bit more ragged than other of their albums and this might be a difficult release to listen straight through. Estes is a very important artist, as a songwriter and as a vocalist. An excellent collection of his early recordings for Victor and other labels is I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More 1929-1941) on Yazoo. For the recordings made after his rediscovery, recommended titles include his other Delmark albums such as The Legend of Sleepy John Estes, or Brownsville Blues. These should be available from most any good source for blues.

One other matter. I was chatting with Washington area blues artist Memphis Gold, and he mentioned that his father grew up around Estes and others. Interesting how blues roots run deep in families.